Sim Usa Incorporated

The Danja Fistula Center is a comprehensive health care facility that provides holistic care to women living with or threatened by a fistula. The DFC provides the highest quality of clinical, preventive, and social care at its facility and in the surrounding communities. Additionally, the Danja Fistula Center is proud to offer extensive educational and economic opportunities for every woman that arrives on the Center’s grounds. 

We want to introduce you to Saimsa, who is one of the first women that received treatment at our facility.

Saimsa

With a beautiful smile and constant chatter, Saimsa exudes warmth and confidence. Despite her sunny disposition, this 26-year-old has suffered from an obstetric fistula for seven years.

Since her first two pregnancies resulted in stillbirths, Saimsa knew it was important to give birth in a medical center the next time she was pregnant. So for her third pregnancy, at the first sign of labor, she went to a clinic early in the morning and was in labor all day. By nightfall, her attendant told her a natural birth was not possible and referred her to the Maradi clinic for a C-Section. Halfway there and during the middle of the night, her taxi broke down. Still having contractions, she was stranded by the road until she could find another taxi in the morning. By the time she made it to Maradi, her baby was dead. She had a manual removal of the stillborn. After the procedure, she discovered she was incontinent. She had a fistula between her bladder and vagina.

 

Months later, Saimsa made the journey to a Nigerian fistula center. She was accompanied by her mother’s co-wife (her mother had died during childbirth). After waiting for three months at the center, she received a surgery. Unfortunately, it wasn’t successful. She was still incontinent and had sustained nerve damage during the procedure, so now she also had difficulty walking. She went home and after a few more months, she returned to the same Nigerian center and had a second unsuccessful surgery.

 

She went home again. Although her husband left her immediately after she received a fistula and subsequently remarried, he continues to refuse to divorce her. She hasn’t heard from him in years. Since she cannot remarry, she has been living with family members.

 

A few years later, she heard a radio announcement about the Danja Fistula Center. With no living parents or children to help her, she came to the Center by herself. We are ecstatic that Saimsa had a successful surgery and no longer has continence issues.  Saimsa is in good spirits (she’s constantly flashing that beautiful smile) and we are all optimistic for a bright and happy future!