Receive Your Copy Catherines Gift: Stories Of Hope From The Hospital By The River Scripted By John Little Offered In Printable Format

A book about someone who changed the world Catherine's Gift John Little
the follow up to 'Hospital by the River' about the life and work of Catherine Hamlin.


I bought this awhile ago to read for this challenge and in light of her recent passing I thought it fitting to read now.


This book was AMAZING,   I had heard about Catherine Hamlin prior to reading but didn't know very much about her or her work, I didn't really know what exactly she did medicinally or where in the world she worked, I know that she had a christian faith and that she worked with women in some of the poorest parts of the world,

This book follows on from 'The Hospital by the River' which I am now keen to read, It has been a number of years since John Little visited and Reg Catherine's husband has passed but she still continues her work as determinedly as ever.


This work those has completely opened my eyes not only to her and to the work she does, but to the state and what's being done about maternal health in the third world.


To say that this book is about the life and work of Catherine Hamlin would be to do her a disservice, she is by all accounts the humblest of people 'Catherine says in an offhand way that she sometimes wakes up at night worrying that she hasn't done enough to help.
Worrying that God will judge her when she gets to heaven, '

This book largely focus on the the work that is being done in Ethiopia and tells with vivid description the lives and stories of these women.
John Little does an excellent job of narrating,  both from his own experiences of his time there and recounting the stories of the women he meets.

The style is so easy to read having not been one for reading biographies before but this just totally absorbed me,

I would recommend this to everyone! This is an excellent review of the work of Catherine Hamblin and appears to be told warts and all.
What a dedicated doctor she was! This is so poignant reading it so soon after her death, It is written with great respect for the work she and her husband began and she continued, I hope the foundation is there for the work to continue as it is much needed, This book was good, with enough back story and education to learn but also lots of personal stories to stay endearing, Catherine and her team are amazing people, This biography is no literary masterpiece, indeed the writing style is rather bland, However, I had trouble putting it down and found it an engrossing read because of its subject matter, The central figure is Dr Catherine Hamlin AC, esteemed Australian surgeon and humanitarian based in Ethiopia,

Catherine and her late husband Dr Reg Hamlin arrived in Addis Ababa into work in the capital's main hospital teaching obstetrics and gynaecology, and to found a midwifery training centre.
Catherine says "We were touched and appalled by the sadness of our first fistula patient: a beautiful young woman in urinesoaked ragged clothes, sitting alone in our outpatients department away from the other waiting patients.
We knew she was more in need than any of the others, "

Obstetric fistula is an internal injury caused by an obstructed labour during childbirth, The fistula is a hole between the birth canal and the bladder or rectum, caused when labour goes on for days and the foetus dies inside.
It leaves survivors leaking urine or faeces or both through their vagina, This cruel medical condition is prevalent in the poorest nations of the world where young women give birth in primitive circumstances without the assistance of trained midwives.
Sufferers are usually rejected by their husbands, banned from their communities, hidden in huts, and left unattended and loveless because they are smelly and unwholesome.


Fistula sufferers are often located in remote parts of the Ethiopian countryside and make bonewearying journeys to get to what's fondly known as "The hospital by the river".
On arrival they are given shelter, clean clothes, food and personal care while the extent of their internal injuries are assessed by the medical team.
A simple fistula may require a straightforward procedure, with followup, resulting in a woman returning home healed and optimistic for resuming a normal existence, The badly injured patients may require multiple surgeries and many

months of treatment and monitoring, Everyone is treated with respect and compassion, and nobody is turned away, The commitment of Catherine and her team to the welfare of these traumatised women is truly remarkable,

The book provides a summary of Catherine's life story, detailing her background, upbringing and career, It examines with sensitivity her personality, values, work ethic, faith and spirituality, the elements that drive her to continue this important life work even though she is now in hers.


Most interesting, the author spends time getting to know Catherine's staff and patients, their hopes, motivations and life stories as well, We meet several fistula sufferers from different parts of Ethiopia, helpfully illustrated with some charming colour photographs, The author returns to their bedsides regularly to check on their recovery and report on setbacks, The dedication of the Hamlins and their colleagues, and the efforts made by their group and others to assist fistula sufferers are welldocumented and make for fascinating reading.


It is a truly phenomenal achievement, Catherine Hamlin was named the Senior Australian of the Year, adding to an already impressive list of international awards, She has twice been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, In my opinion she deserves to win it, as recognition for her life work as a woman pioneering new treatments in women's health, and for the transformation of so many lives that had been so tragically ruined by the social conditions in which they existed.


It is worthwhile to visit the Catherine Hamlin website to learn more about the work being done to eradicate obstetric fistula,
sitelinkwww. hamlin. org. au I read this in anticipation of my visit to the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital in January, As I expected, I was tremendously moved by the many individual stories of the women who seek treatment there, As I hoped, I not only learned more about Catherine Hamlin, the hospital's founder, but also about what motivates many other doctors, both Ethiopian and Western, who have made sacrifices to dedicate their lives to helping African women recover from devastating childbirth injuries.
I am taking away from it a reinforced certainty that, while the world has some pretty big problems, the caring acts of individuals really do matter.
I'm amazed at the resilience of the women who have experienced fistulas, and so many other hardships, and yet are still able to smile, The fistula hospital does amazingly important work and yet there is so much more to do, . . There are just some amazing ppl in the world, My specialist is also mentioned in this book dr Judith Goh, This book is somewhat of a sequel to John Little and Catherine Hamlins first book entitled, Hospital by the River, I highly recommend their first book, Catherines Gift was good in the sense that it shared more intimate stories of the lives of the fistula patients and staff at the fistula hospital, but the first half of the book seemed to include similar content as the first book.
In fact, there were places where I thought the author repeated some of the same stories, The second half of the book was much more original, It was particularly interesting to hear the stories of all the fistula surgeons who had worked at both the fistula hospital in Addis Ababa and on the Mercy Ship Chapter.
If you liked Hospital by the River and have read it years ago, I think youll enjoy Catherines Gift, but dont read them back to back otherwise youll find too much repetition.
The story of an amazing woman's life work, Her devotion to helping women in Ethiopia is a story that cannot be forgotten! An exceptional book detailing the plight of African women suffering from obstetric fistula.
Many will not know what a fistula is because in the developed world it never happens! It is an internal tear resulting from obstructed birth.
The more we know of this dreadful condition the more readily we will reach into our pockets to give to charities like the Catherine May Foundation and the Hamlin Fistula Hospital.
These charities devote their lives to ridding the developing world of this isolating and cruel condition, No woman needs to suffer in this way, This is formerMinute's journalist John Little's third book on this subject and deserves enormous credit for shining light on a condition which should by now be eradicated.
Five! Love the subject love Dr, Hamlin. I found this book a bit disorganized, Hard going. Just a repeat of The Hospital by the River Catherine is a one in a million, This is a really interesting, humbling read about the work that she undertakes in Africa with African Women, What an inspiring read. With dedication and passion Dr Catherine Hamlin has brought and is still bringing in her eighties new lives to Ethiopian victims of fistulas, Fistulas are devastating injuries caused by obstructed labor, This is a powerful read showing the power of individuals to transform lives, As we discover the stories of the individual women impacted by this surgery we see how love, hope and faith have renewed their lives, Inspiring, sad stories. Not as well structured as the first book about Catherine but still heart breaking with stories of the girls involved,
Pop sugar reading challengea book with an oxymoron in titleStars Okay, I liked the book. It was worth reading. Nowhere near as good as his first book, but still a good story, Dr Catherine Hamlin has been described as a living saint and one of our greatest Australians, Sinceshe has lived and worked in Ethiopia, helping the victims of fistulas devastating injuries caused by obstructed labour in childbirth, which condemn women to a lifetime of incapacity and degradation.


The surgery she pioneered has helped tens of thousands of sufferers return to normal life after being shunned by their families and communities.
The hospitals she has set up in her adopted country now act as teaching centres for obstetricians and surgeons from many developing nations,

Catherine's Gift takes us inside her extraordinary world, following the fate of some of the women who have travelled to Dr Hamlin's hospitals in the hope of a cure for their fistula injuries.
It shows us the daytoday experiences of her incredible staff, and the tireless work of Catherine Hamlin herself,

There are few more inspirational stories than that of Dr Catherine Hamlin, and this book brings her and her work vividly to life.
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