Inspiring book leads to adventure
THERE is no doubt some books can change lives.
For 25-year-old Hayley Piggott, a book she read in primary school changed everything.
Ms Piggott and her siblings were home schooled near the tiny town of Rolleston and their mum was always on the hunt for good books to help them learn new things.
She would put in her request to the children’s grandmother, Joan Black, to pick up as many as she could get from the regular book sales held by Toowoomba’s Friends of the Library group and bring them out when she visited.
One book out of all the stacks left a lasting impression on Ms Piggott: The Hospital by the River, by Dr Catherine Hamlin.
The book was about the establishment of a special hospital to repair fistulas on Ethiopian women.
Fistulas can be very common in developing countries where women often undergo childbirth before their young bodies are fully ready.
A difficult birth can lead to a hole forming in the tissues connecting the vagina and the bladder or rectum, creating a very unsanitary and uncomfortable condition.
“The story ignited a passion inside me, and it wasn’t until I completed my Bachelor of Agribusiness that I came across the Hamlin.org.au website, in a quest to know more,” Ms Piggott said.
“It was on the website I came across the ‘Hamlin Ethiopian Adventure’, and knew it was a trip I had to undertake.”
As part of the adventure, she had to raise $10,000, a process now under way ahead of her departure for Ethiopia in November.
Ms Piggott will speak this afternoon at a special event for the Friends of the Toowoomba City Library which will feature a recipe swap and afternoon tea.
It will be held in the Toowoomba City Library level two meeting room from 2.30pm. To find out more call Margaret Taylor on
0417 753 171.
To donate to Ms Piggott’s fundraising total visit everyday hero.com/au/ and search for Hamlin Fistula.