 A Native of Australia, Dr. Catherine Hamlin together with her late husband, Dr. Reginald Hamlin is a Co-Founder of the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital in 1974. Since that time, the hospital has served over 25 thousand women, and has become a major teaching institution for surgeons all over Ethiopia and the developing world. A new operating theater, additional wards and hostel space were completed in 1999, and a rural village was recently completed which is allowing women whose fistulas cannot be repaired to live out their lives in self-sufficiency and dignity.
Since the death of Reg in 1993, Catherine has continued their work. “Never for a moment have I felt like retiring or wanted to change my life or my work,” Catherine wrote in her book, The Hospital by the River, a best-seller in her native Australia. “The joy I receive from working for these patients is something for which I thank God every day.” For her efforts, she was made a Companion of the Order of Australia, awarded the ANZAC Peace Prize and the coveted Gold Medal from the Royal College of Surgeons and nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. In October 2003, she visited the United States to be inducted as an honorary fellow in the American College of Surgeons. Dr. Catherine Hamlin is a recipient of the 1971 Haile Selassie Humanitarian Prize, a 1998 Rotary International Award for World Peace, a 1999 Nominee for Nobel Peace Prize, Featured guest on Oprah Winfrey Show, and many other recognitions. |
Honored Members 
