Transforming Lives : Stories from the Field :

Binta’s Story

Binta lives in a village called Pintkel, in the Tambakka Chiefdom. Because of her family’s financial constraints, Binta did not attend school; instead, she married when young, to Mr. Mohamed, a farmer. She was his only wife.

Binta had three pregnancies. During her third pregnancy, her labor failed to progress, and she went to the village’s traditional birth attendant. She struggled through the night, and in the morning, the attendant took her to the maternity clinic. The baby was stuck, and the nurse referred her to a hospital.

There, Binta had a stillbirth. She was in the hospital for one month. When she was discharged, she leaked urine all the time. For eight years, she was wet, and her husband shunned her. Binta says she did not smile for all that time.

Later, she heard of the Aberdeen Women’s Centre in Freetown. She made her way there and met other women with the same incontinence problem. She had an operation and was healed. She went home dry to her family, friends, and community. Binta says she is so thankful to God and to the Aberdeen Women’s Centre.

This resource was made possible by the generous support of the American people through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), under the terms of the cooperative agreement GHS-A-00-07-00021-00. The information provided on this resource is not official U.S. Government information and does not represent the views or positions of the USAID or the U.S. Government.