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A Voice For the Voiceless

The Advocacy Project helps marginalized communities to tell their story, claim their rights and produce social change. We recruit graduate students to volunteer as Peace Fellows with partners.

The Impact of Service "Speaking with locals and living in a country is the best way to learn about the real lives of citizens, not just the stories in the mainstream media. I will be more critical of what I read as a result of this experience. I also feel even more grateful for my education, and I feel a stronger responsibility to assist others who do not have resources or access to opportunities in their communities." Maria Skouras (New York University) volunteered in 2011 as a Peace Fellow for eHomemakers in Malaysia. For more 2011 feedback click here.

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Partner Campaigns > Women's Repro... > Women at Risk > Birth Spacing/Hig... > Anita Devi Sadaya

Anita Devi Sadaya

The combination of heavy fieldwork and two births in quick succession never allowed Anita Devi Sadaya’s muscles to heal properly.

Anita is only 19 years old, but she has already delivered two children and experienced uterine prolapse. She had her first child when she was 15 and the second at 16. She has experienced symptoms of uterine prolapse for almost five years, since right after her first delivery.

Anita felt her uterus falling while doing housework. She thinks it happened because of her work. Anita is responsible for all house and field work, and bringing wood from the fields. Her heavy workload continued up until labor and resumed only a week after the birth of her first child. Her second delivery was a lot harder than the first, as her uterus came out with the baby.

Anita’s mother, sister-in-law, and husband all know about her problem. A neighbor told a campaigner about her problem, and the campaigner came to talk with her. Her neighbor, the campaigner, and her husband have all encouraged Anita to seek treatment for her prolapse. Her husband walked with her to the health post a half-hour away.

Unfortunately, Anita and her husband do not have the resources to pay for a pessary ring that would hold her uterus in place. She and husband work as day laborers – collecting wood from the forest –  and also farm on government land. Despite her prolapse, Anita still has to do field work and domestic work. She lifts a little less now.  Her husband tries to help, but he cannot do it all.

Anita is most affected by the condition mentally, as she stresses about her problem and how she will manage.  She also worries that others see her as less capable. Despite this, and her difficulties with the last delivery, Anita still wants to have another child. Both of her children are girls and she wants a son as well.

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