wfn.org | NCC offers expanded fistula stories curriculum

["Philip Jenks" <pjenks@ncccusa.org>]

>New and expanded Fistula Stories curriculum

Explore faith in action, educate your community about maternal health,  and 
walk in solidarity with your global sisters

By Meagan Manas

See www.ncccusa.org/news/100526fistulacurriculum.html

May 26, 2010  -- A recent article in the medical journal The Lancet  revealed 
that global maternal mortality is on the decline.  This is good  news, but much 
progress remains to be seen.  It is still estimated that  a woman dies in 
childbirth or from pregnancy-related complications every  90 seconds-and that 
for every one woman who dies there are 20 who live  with childbirth-related 
injuries.  One of those injuries is Obstetric  Fistula.  A hole between the 
vagina and bladder and/or rectum that  leaves women incontinent and shunned, 
fistula affects more than 2  million women worldwide. (See 
http://press.thelancet.com/mmm.pdf.)

Fistula Stories is a 4-session curriculum for use in church bible  studies, 
campus ministries, and other community groups. The curriculum  was developed 
under the auspices of the National Council of Churches  Women's Ministries 
program. Through education, Bible study, and advocacy  planning, Fistula 
Stories invites you to take a stand on Global Maternal  Health.

Studying the specific issue of fistula provides a tangible framework in  which 
to explore the connections between faith and action in our own  lives.  All of 
the participants in our pilot program during Fall 2009 reported  that they 
understood the connections between faith and action in their  own lives in new 
and deeper ways, and they felt empowered to be  advocates for this and other 
issues! 

The curriculum is closely linked to a website, www.fistulastories.org,  where 
you can read more stories of faith in action, find out more about  fistula, and 
learn about what is being done to improve life for women  worldwide.  Visit 
fistulastories.org to download the free curriculum,  complete with a leader's 
guide and supplemental resources!  Interested  in Fistula Stories?  Stay in 
touch!  Visit  www.fistulastories.org/curriculum to download the materials and 
provide  us with your contact information-we will keep you in the loop with  
anticipated supplemental materials, including a US Maternal Health  Supplement 
(did you know that the US ranks 40th in maternal mortality  among developed 
nations?) and Interfaith text studies.
 
Explore faith in action, educate your community about maternal health,  and 
walk in solidarity with your global sisters!  Check out Fistula  Stories  
today!                          

Since its founding in 1950, the National Council of the Churches of  Christ in 
the USA has been the leading force for ecumenical cooperation  among Christians 
in the United States. The NCC's member faith groups --  from a wide spectrum of 
Protestant, Anglican, Orthodox, Evangelical,  historic African American and 
Living Peace churches -- include 45  million persons in more than 100,000 local 
congregations in communities  across the nation.

NCC News contact:  Philip E. Jenks, 212-870-2228 (office),  646-853-4212 
(cell), pjenks@ncccusa.org