- Home >
- Top Stories
Student club exceeds fund raising goal
November 30, 2007
The student club Hope ‘Scopes has raised over $800 to fight obstetric fistula in the developing world, far exceeding their initial goal of $300. The new goal is to hit $1,000 by Friday, Dec. 7.
“I seriously am amazed that we have had such a good progress on this project,” said senior Phuong Lien Nguyen, a leader of Hope ‘Scopes. “I’m shocked.”
The group actually hit their initial goal at a Green-Pink Party they hosted in November. At the event, students learned what obstetric fistula is, how it’s connected to building a sustainable world and watched a video depicting women affected by the medical condition.
“I think after seeing the video of women suffering, people were able to put face to the problem,” Nguyen said. “It really got the ball rolling.”
Obstetric fistula is a devastating childbirth injury caused by prolonged obstructed labor in women or girls that are too young, small or malnourished to have children. It affects women and girls living in poverty in the developing world.
As a result of their injuries, women with fistula leak urine, and sometimes feces, often causing others, including their husbands, to shun them. Most are relegated to the edges of society, unable to board a bus or share a meal with others.
“It’s really difficult to live with this medical condition,” Nguyen explained. “It’s debilitating because it takes women away from the social ties that make them part of the community.”
For those who can’t access treatment, their suffering and isolation lasts a lifetime. But the condition is both preventable and treatable, with repair surgery costing $300 on average, which is why that number was the club’s original goal, Nguyen said.
The money being raised by Hope ‘Scopes will be donated to One By One, a Seattle nonprofit working to eliminate the disease and prevent it through education. The organization is currently trying to raise $22,000 to purchase a surgery table for the Bugando Medical Center in Mwanza, Tanzania.
One By One teamed up with the Sierra Club, the nation’s oldest and largest environmental organization, to protect women and the environment around the world. The two organizations formed the Green-Pink Project, bringing environmental activists and women’s health activists together.
Women’s access to basic rights, including quality healthcare, are crucial to protecting the environment, Nguyen explained. Women who give birth to healthy children usually choose to have fewer children, which positively impacts the environment by reducing the human impact.
Through the Green-Pink Project, activists host Green-Pink Parties where money is raised to support prevention and repair surgeries through One by One.
Hope ‘Scopes is still collecting donations and hope to reach their new goal of $1,000 for the cause. The club’s progress is being tracked through hummingbirds in the University Center’s display case. The club will be tabling in the University Center and Rieke through Dec. 7 and can accept donations by cash, check or credit card.
To learn more, contact Hope ‘Scopes at scopes@plu.edu.
University Communications staff writer Megan Haley compiled this report. Comments, questions, ideas? Please contact her at ext. 8691 or at haleymk@plu.edu. Photo by University Photographer Jordan Hartman.
The group actually hit their initial goal at a Green-Pink Party they hosted in November. At the event, students learned what obstetric fistula is, how it’s connected to building a sustainable world and watched a video depicting women affected by the medical condition.
“I think after seeing the video of women suffering, people were able to put face to the problem,” Nguyen said. “It really got the ball rolling.”
Obstetric fistula is a devastating childbirth injury caused by prolonged obstructed labor in women or girls that are too young, small or malnourished to have children. It affects women and girls living in poverty in the developing world.
As a result of their injuries, women with fistula leak urine, and sometimes feces, often causing others, including their husbands, to shun them. Most are relegated to the edges of society, unable to board a bus or share a meal with others.
“It’s really difficult to live with this medical condition,” Nguyen explained. “It’s debilitating because it takes women away from the social ties that make them part of the community.”
For those who can’t access treatment, their suffering and isolation lasts a lifetime. But the condition is both preventable and treatable, with repair surgery costing $300 on average, which is why that number was the club’s original goal, Nguyen said.
The money being raised by Hope ‘Scopes will be donated to One By One, a Seattle nonprofit working to eliminate the disease and prevent it through education. The organization is currently trying to raise $22,000 to purchase a surgery table for the Bugando Medical Center in Mwanza, Tanzania.
One By One teamed up with the Sierra Club, the nation’s oldest and largest environmental organization, to protect women and the environment around the world. The two organizations formed the Green-Pink Project, bringing environmental activists and women’s health activists together.
Women’s access to basic rights, including quality healthcare, are crucial to protecting the environment, Nguyen explained. Women who give birth to healthy children usually choose to have fewer children, which positively impacts the environment by reducing the human impact.
Through the Green-Pink Project, activists host Green-Pink Parties where money is raised to support prevention and repair surgeries through One by One.
Hope ‘Scopes is still collecting donations and hope to reach their new goal of $1,000 for the cause. The club’s progress is being tracked through hummingbirds in the University Center’s display case. The club will be tabling in the University Center and Rieke through Dec. 7 and can accept donations by cash, check or credit card.
To learn more, contact Hope ‘Scopes at scopes@plu.edu.
University Communications staff writer Megan Haley compiled this report. Comments, questions, ideas? Please contact her at ext. 8691 or at haleymk@plu.edu. Photo by University Photographer Jordan Hartman.