Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital part 3
Garden of the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital, Ethiopia
I have to admit that Addis Ababa is not the most beautiful city I’ve ever visited. In fact, many parts are quite dirty with much rubbish lying around in streets and on construction sites, poorly maintained roads, less than beautiful buildings and plenty of pollution in the air and waterways. I sensed during my visit there last December that attempts are being made to clean up the environment and general facilities but the sheer mass of people they are dealing with makes this a mammoth task.
It was therefore a very pleasant surprise to visit some private homes to see what could be achieved. Even more delightful was our visit to the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital (click here to read what I wrote last week about our visit). The buildings in this wonderful hospital are extremely well maintained, clean and inviting to the traumatised patients. The grounds and gardens are a haven providing a serene environment for the women recovering from obstetric fistula, one of the most distressing medical conditions I have ever read about.
Here is my challenge: you can help these women to recover by donating to the work. Click here for more details.
Garden of the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital, Ethiopia
Garden of the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital, Ethiopia
Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital part 2
Garden of the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital, Ethiopia
Last week I wrote about our visit to the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital in Ethiopia.
Today I present a few more photos taken around the gardens and buildings of this wonderful hospital, a place changing the lives of so many local women in an amazing way. To read more, click here.
Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital, Ethiopia
Garden of the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital, Ethiopia
Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital
Garden of the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital, Ethiopia
One of the places my wife and I wanted to visit while in Ethiopia last December was the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital, established many years ago by an Australian doctor, Catherine Hamlin and her husband. We had heard about this wonderful hospital some years ago and had financially supported its work.
Last year, just when we were planning our trip to Ethiopia, an hour long documentary on the work was shown on Australian television, further fostering a growing passion to support this hospital. In December we planned to visit our daughter who was teaching at Bingham Academy, an international school about 20 minutes by taxi from the hospital.
We asked her if she could contact the hospital to enquire if we could visit. She went one better and arranged an appointment for us. It so happened that the son of the CEO of the hospital was a student in her class. We later met the CEO and his family at a church service and found them to be lovely people.
Over the coming days I plan to show more photos of the garden of this wonderful hospital. I was not permitted to take any photos of the patients which is completely understandable. The grounds, however, were amazing; so peaceful and therapeutic for the patients.
I challenge my readers to find out more about the work of this hospital in treating women suffering from obstetric fistula. In fact, I challenge you to financially support this amazing work. Click here to go to their website for more information.
Garden of the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital, Ethiopia
Garden of the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital, Ethiopia
Photos of Pangarinda Arboretum, Wellington, South Australia part 13
Pangarinda Arboretum, Wellington, South Australia
Pangarinda Arboretum, Wellington, South Australia
Pangarinda Arboretum, Wellington, South Australia
Pangarinda Arboretum, Wellington, South Australia
Photos of Pangarinda Arboretum, Wellington, South Australia part 12
Chamelaucium bush, Pangarinda Arboretum, South Australia
A spectacular Australian plant in a huge field of spectacular plants would have to be the Chamelaucium group of native plants, two of them shown here. When not in flower they are a nondescript plant, but when they burst into flower the colours can be almost overwhelming.
These photos were taken of several bushes in the Pangarinda Arboretum near Wellington in South Australia earlier this year. In a huge collection of wonderful plants it is hard to stand out from the crowd, but this species certainly does, especially on a dull winter’s day like our last visit.
You can see more flowers and plants from this collection in recent posts here on this site, and there is more to come in the next few weeks.
Chamelaucium bush, Pangarinda Arboretum, South Australia
Chamelaucium bush, Pangarinda Arboretum, South Australia
Chamelaucium bush, Pangarinda Arboretum, South Australia