Hafiza recognizes that she has been given a
very special privilege by being the first in her family to attend school. “I came from a very poor family and I have
worked hard to say that I'm the best in that family”, she says. Her determination has led her to be awarded
twice as the top student in her private school.
While she enjoys and excels in a variety of subjects, it has been her
aspiration to become a doctor since primary school . These plans got side-tracked in the first
year of her secondary school studies.
During a school break she went with some of her family to visit her
grandmother's village. The people there
said that “there is something in females, that they used to remove it because
they can not have sex”. They checked
Hafiza and her younger sister and found they both had this. In the process of cutting it away, Hafiza's
urethra was also cut and she began leaking urine. Hafiza returned home, but because of her
incontinence and her shame she was not able to return to school. “I am crying day to night”, she says, “Crying
crying, and I'm missing my studies.Up til now I am crying for that”. For six months she went to the doctor and was given medicine, without any effect. She was not prepared to give up; she showed the same persistence and perseverance she demonstrated at school in seeking out a cure for her condition. Through a series of hospital referrals, she finally arrived at DFC. “I am so very happy”, she says, and goes on to comment on how welcoming everyone is and on the gentle and friendly care she received in her three weeks at DFC. She underwent a successful urethral reconstruction surgery and is eager and excited to return home so she can continue with her studies. She agrees that her experience at DFC has confirmed her desire to become a doctor. Her perseverance is sure to bring her to that goal, and who knows, perhaps one day she will return to DFC not as a patient, but as a surgeon.
By Michelle