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Participants at a massive educational
rally in on World AIDS Day, 2000.
Most women in Kembatta see a doctor only on their
deathbeds. Only when things go terribly wrong, usually during
labor with a fullterm baby unable to break through the scarring
caused by the very female genital excisions designed to prepare
them for motherhood and childbearing, is help sought. Then,
they can be seen along rural pathways, carried bleeding on
makeshift stretchers, as family members walk miles in fruitless
searches for help. Many women die along the way with perfectly
healthy babies trapped inside.
School childred sing, "AIDS is a disease,
not a curse from above," at an AIDS rally Alaba, a predominatly
Muslim area. Participants from surrounding areas staged moving
educational dramas and several HIV/Positive adolescents spoke
with great honesty about their condition, not an easy task
for young people living a close-knit traditional community.
There’s virtually no one in Kembatta who
hasn’t had a sister, mother, or daughter die in childbirth
because of complications of the scarring caused by FGE. And,
because FGE scars tear during intercourse, it is believed
to be a major reason why girls 15-19 are the fastest-growing
demographic of HIV/AIDS victims in Ethiopia.
KMG is beginning to change this picture. Using innovative
approaches and always working to empower local communities
rather than judge them, KMG is achieving sudden victories
against this age-old practice and in helping women and their
families lead healthier lives.
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