Their life and actions guarantee the safe existence of others. Thanks to their devotion and courage tens, hundreds, thousands of people were spared a terrible fate. Neither wars nor natural disasters nor terrorism can stop them. In Africa, Middle East, Latin America and other ends of the world they invest not only their time, resources and security but also the most valuable – their life – to make the world a better place to live.

Dr. Catherine Hamlin has dedicated her life to fighting the stigma and suffering that Ethiopian women with obstetric fistula have to face. At 96, she has helped more than 60,000 patients get treatment and opened specialized fistula hospitals all over the country, providing unparalleled care and giving hope for a new life to those who were traditionally shunned by their own communities.

“I’m still trying to wake the world up and tell people about the women we treat. It warms my heart that so many people have supported our work. To see a girl from abject poverty and sadness and sorrow suddenly become a new person, that’s the joy that fistula surgeons get when they cure them. I just love these women. My feeling for them, my compassion for them, is unending.”

These people live next to us. They are modern day heroes.