15 Women with VVF Get Free Repair Surgeries from Diamond Bank & Extended Hands Foundation

Since its inception, the goal of the Extended Hands Foundation which I founded some years back has been to restore hope and put smiles on the faces of women. For some years now, the foundation has been focused on helping women with Vesico Vaginal Fistula (VVF) – a serious disability that can be experienced by women after childbirth – and giving them a chance at living normal lives through free repair surgeries.

Recently through the support of Diamond Bank PLC, 15 women living with VVF received free repair surgeries at the Kwara Specialist Hospital, Ilorin, Kwara State. The women all had successful surgeries and were nursed back to health at the hospital. Before the surgeries, many of them had been shunned and separated from their families as a result of the embarrassing effects of the condition. Some of them lost their jobs, their husbands, and were forced to live in degrading conditions. Thanks to the successful surgeries, they are now back with their loved ones and are living their dreams.

Vesico Vaginal Fistula (VVF) is a serious disability that can be experienced by women after childbirth. They are holes resulting from the breakdown in the tissue between the vaginal wall and the bladder or rectum caused by unrelieved obstructed labour. The consequence of such damage is a woman’s inability to control the flow of urine or faeces. It occurs more often in young women during childbirth, as their bodies are not yet mature for the process.

The pool effort was lauded by the First Lady of Kwara State Mrs Omolewa Ahmed who received me and my team from Extended Hands Foundation as well as the Diamond Bank team at the State House in Ilorin. The state Commissioner for Health Alhaji Kayode Issah, also received the us during our stay in Ilorin.

I am thankful to everyone who has supported this exercise, especially Diamond Bank, and pledge that we would continue to do more to touch more women with VVF across the country.