Every year, on Human Rights Day (December 10) the President of Soroptimist International selects a project that provides direct assistance to women in extreme need.
Soroptimist International  -  December 10th  -  President's Appeal 2007

Hamlin Obstetric Fistula Relief and Aid Fund

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Soroptimists throughout the world contribute to this project.
Imagine never being able to return home
after having a baby.....
then imagine finding a home in Village Desta Mender, being cared for, trained for a new life, and having your dignity restored.
"The Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital is the only Facility in the world exclusively dedicated to treating (obstetric) fistula,  It serves as a center of excellence, offering training and pioneering surgical techniques and methods of physical and psychological rehabilitation for women." 
United Nations Population Fund
What is a fistula?   
A fistula is an unnatural tear or hole between two organs.  Obstructed labor can cause a fistula to the birth passage, bladder and sometimes, the rectum.  As a result a woman leaks urine constantly.  Fistula injuries are worse than death as women experience rejection, separation, loneliness and shame.
Project Aims and Objectives:

● To help those women with fistulas who cannot be completely cured and need on-going medical care.
● To encourage independence and improve the morale and self-esteem of the permanent residents of the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital through self-help rural village "Desta Mender".

Village Desta Mender
The village was opened in a rural area outside Addis Ababa for patients who could not be completely cured. Ongoing medical care is available and the women and girls are taught various skills such as crafts and knitting, and receive training to become nursing aids and care givers to help in the nearby orphanage.
Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital History
In the late 1950s, two young doctors, Reginald and Catherine Hamlin, were dedicated obstetricians living and working in Catherine's native Australia. Early in their careers, the couple practiced gynecology in Sydney, but they were eager to seek out and aid the women who needed them most.   (Dr. Hamlin pictured at right)

They got their chance in 1959, when they were called upon to come to Ethiopia and set up practice in a hospital in the capital city of Addis Ababa. When they arrived, Reginald and Catherine discovered a very poor country with almost no resources for expectant mothers. The Hamlins planned to open a midwifery school at the Princess Tshai Memorial Hospital and to stay for three years. 

Reginald Hamlin recently passed away but Catherine Hamlin now 82 carries on with her work.  She has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.  You can read her story in "The Hospital by the River: A Story of Hope" by Dr. Catherine Hamlin with John Little - Monarch Books, illustrated, 2004
For more information about Soroptimist International and to read about past President's Appeals - Link Here
For more information about obstetric fistulas please visit the website of the The Fistula Foundation