This specialty of pelvic health has given each of us so many things: purpose, community, and a means to empower and equip so many people to better understand and care for their pelvic health challenges and reach their goals.

But for the rest of the developing world, it’s not like that. Imagine a place where the field of pelvic health simply doesn’t exist. Where women have no choice but to live the rest of their lives with leaking, and community condemnation from birth-induced fistula. Where men suffer in silence with impotence and pelvic pain. Where people with all types of pelvic health conditions must go about their lives hiding and suffering in their private shame.

And then imagine that YOU had the power and influence to change this! To extend your influence, expertise and support all the way across the world to East Africa - to the Amref International University in Nairobi Kenya (AMIU), where even now two cohorts of the FIRST Masters Level Pelvic Health Therapists are busy preparing to revolutionize the understanding and delivery of pelvic rehab in East Africa: Kenya, Uganda, and Ethiopia!

Imagine though, the hurdles these professionals will have to navigate in their cultures, communities, health care systems, referral sources, families, and personal lives. Then imagine what a difference it would make for them to have encouragement, mentorship, and financial support.

The Program
Elizabeth Akincilar and I have been humbled to be a part of this movement through the leadership of the Jackson Clinics Foundation to develop curriculum, recruit teachers, mentors, volunteers, and most importantly raise financial contributions to support this fledgling program. To date, all students have had HALF of their curriculum costs covered through donations alone.

In the development of this program, both Herman & Wallace and the Pelvic Health and Rehabilitation Center generously contributed both online and didactic materials. Several colleagues added their expertise to the curriculum, including Ramona Horton, Dawn Sandalcidi, Juan Michelle Martin, Ebony Jackson, Laura McGuckin, Niko Gaffga, Carolyn Packard, and Christine Stewart.

The curriculum consists of 6 modules:

1. Introduction to Pelvic Health
2. Pregnancy/Intrapartum/Postpartum
3. Pediatrics and Marketing
4. Pelvic Pain
5. Visceral Mobilization
6. Advanced Topics within Pelvic Health

Because AMIU has a presence in over 30 countries in Africa and Asia, the potential for the curriculum to grow and spread is huge.

The Students
In East Africa, the need for pelvic health care is extraordinary, and knowledge about pelvic health conditions is minimal. There are many barriers people with pelvic health concerns encounter in receiving care, and also barriers for students to continue their studies.

Three of the students in a previous cohort had to work night shifts at the hospital for the two weeks we were in class. They spent 8 hours in class, went home to care for their families, then worked 8 hours at the hospital. For. Two. Weeks.

Another student almost dropped out because she had funds to either pay for her tuition or her daughters’ school fees. We were able to connect her with a donor who covered her expenses.

Lives are also being profoundly impacted by the care these therapists are providing in their communities: from the woman who finally bore a child after a decade of struggling with pelvic pain, to the grandmother supporting her grandchildren who was able to go back to work after getting control of her bladder and bowel leakage, to the man who never talked about the abuse he experienced as a child who is now able to have a bowel movement without pain.

The Goals
As we consider the growth of the pelvic health program in Kenya, our goals are several:

1. To equip and empower rehab specialists in providing quality pelvic health care to the country of Kenya and now other countries in East Africa.
2. To train teaching assistants and faculty members to be proficient in conducting the curriculum independently within three years
3. To reduce or eliminate barriers to pelvic health continuing education in Kenya
4. This last goal is where our pelvic health family in the US comes in. The cost for the two-year degree is equivalent to $2,000 American dollars. The average PT annual salary is less than $7,000, and participants will have to take 3 weeks off of work per calendar year to participate in the program. Many from outside of Nairobi would have to incur travel and accommodation expenses. This price tag poses a significant barrier.

The total cost of the program is $13,000. We are asking for your help in deferring the cost of the program for as many people as possible, with the goal of paying half of the tuition for the incoming class of thirty people. Our fundraising campaign in 2025 has raised $9000 thus far, with most of this coming from donations during HWConnect, which were matched by Herman & Wallace!

Here’s how you can help:

• Make a tax-deductible donation to the Pelvic Health Program through the Jackson Clinic Foundation.
  
  • Click this secure link and use the carrot to find the Pelvic Health option.
• Host a fundraising activity: perhaps a community education class where the proceeds go to this cause!
• Get on our volunteer list to lead a journal article review, a Grand Rounds discussion, or assist a student in their Legacy project.
• Become a mentor to walk beside a student on their educational journey and beyond.
• Teach an online course for our graduates!
• Donate books or supplies!

For more information on how you can get involved in fundraising or teaching an online class, you can email me (Jenna) at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Liz at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

If you would like to learn more about volunteering, please connect with Ebony Jackson Clark at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

We are so, so very humbled by your kind support.

AUTHOR BIO:
Jennafer "Jenna" Ross, PT, BCB-PMD, PRPC

Jennafer Ross PT, BCB-PMD, PRPC, (she/her) After graduating from Ithaca College, Jenna began her career as a physical therapist at Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids, MI. Since 2002, she has focused her professional attention on treating women, men, and children with pelvic health disorders. She is energized through education and enjoys her position as adjunct faculty at Grand Valley University, speaking at community events, organizing a regional pelvic floor mentorship and study group, and didn’t necessarily enjoy but survived part-time home-schooling her two daughters. She has been faculty for Herman & Wallace Pelvic Rehabilitation Institute since 2009 and loves to inspire other rehab professionals treating pelvic floor dysfunction. She is the author of the chapter, “Manual Therapy for the Pelvic Floor,” which was published in the book, “Healing in Urology.” Jenna was a contributing writer for the Pelvic Floor Capstone curriculum and also co-authored the continuing education course, “Boundaries, Self-Care and Meditation Part 1” and “Boundaries, Self-Care and Meditation Part 2” with Nari Clemons. She is certified in pelvic floor rehabilitation and biofeedback for pelvic floor disorders. Outside of teaching and treating patients, Jenna loves to spend time with family and friends, run, cook, travel, do yoga, and snuggle with her doggo.

Faculty members Jenni Gabelsberg DPT, WCS, MSc, MTC and Jennafer Vande Vegte, PT, BCB-PMD, PRPC along with senior Teaching Assistant Quozette Valera PT, DPT will travel to Africa to teach pelvic health in Nairobi City, Kenya through a partnership between Herman & Wallace and The Jackson Foundation. These instructors will be teaching two modules of comprehensive pelvic health training with the goal of creating a self-sustaining, continuous education program taught and offered locally. In addition to training a cohort of physiotherapists in assessing and treating the pelvic floor, these American faculty members will be mentoring local Kenyan therapists to teach these courses in an ongoing manner. We at the Institute are proud and thrilled to be a part of spreading this knowledge and skillset in this currently-underserved region.

The courses offered will comprise H&W's Pelvic Floor Series, with the addition of content relevant to Kenya, including obstetric fistula and female genital mutilation. According to the Worldwide Fistula Fund, there are ~ 2 million women and girls suffering from fistulas. Estimates range from 30 to 100 thousand new cases developing each year; 3-5 cases/1000 pregnancies in low-income countries. A woman may suffer for 1-9 years before seeking treatment. For women who develop fistula in their first pregnancy, 70% end up with no living children.

Have you ever had a dream hidden so deep in your heart you never even spoke it aloud?

The dream for me, to someday teach internationally will come to fruition in February 2022. Jenni Gabelsberg DPT, WCS, MSc, MTC; Quozette Valera PT, DPT; and I will travel to Africa to teach pelvic health in Nairobi City, Kenya through a partnership between Herman & Wallace and The Jackson Foundation.

Richard Jackson, a prominent clinician, educator, and businessman himself (The Jackson Clinics, Richard Jackson Seminars, and The Jackson Foundation), had his own dream to build the quality of physical therapy in Africa by educating and empowering clinicians through an evidence-based curriculum developed by Richard and taught by his staff. Richard served two years in the Peace Corps in Kenya in the late 70s. He taught PT at Kenya Medical Training College. In 2010 a former colleague of his moved from the US back to Ethiopia to address and equip PT education and educators in the country. This led to a partnership where Richard helped develop the first DPT program in Africa. “We were in Ethiopia for seven years. We started a residency program that turned into a doctoral program in physical therapy. In December 2017, we graduated 17 DPTs and now we are out. It is sustainable. It’s up to them to carry on and they have the curriculum and the skills,” said Richard in this article.

In 2012 the program Richard stated reproduced and blossomed in Nairobi, Kenya. Let’s talk for a second about what the field of PT is like in Kenya. In a country of almost 54 million people, there are about 2,000 PTs. Thirty-five percent (700) are women, as reported by the Kenya Society of Physiotherapists. The degree is a diploma that takes 3 years to earn, and there are 9 programs available.

There is a women’s health section along with other specialty sections. Medical care has both private and public facilities which can have a wide variation in amenities. After offering specialty training in orthopedics and neurology, Richard recognized the need to expand training to pelvic health. Thus, a partnership between Herman & Wallace, The Pelvic Health and Rehab Center, and The Jackson Foundation was born. In 2019 three cohorts of teachers: Nancy Cullinane PT, MHS, WCS, Kathy Golic PT, and Terri Lannigan PT, DPT, OCS taught module one; Kathy Golic, Casie Danenhauer, and Sherine Aubert fielded a second module; and then educated and equipped the first class of 35 pelvic health graduates. The foundation of the Kenyan Pelvic Health Program thus laid; the future looked bright!

Then…covid brought everything to a screaming halt.

Almost three years later, the program will eagerly resume in Nairobi City.

One can imagine in a country with so few therapists, so few female therapists, and even fewer (think under 50!) pelvic health therapists, the desperate need for pelvic health training and treatment is difficult to fathom. Add to that the strain of a rather patriarchal society where women's health may not be readily accepted or addressed.

In her blog about her experience in Kenya, Sherine Aubert reflects, “To me, this two-week course was way beyond teaching pelvic floor physical therapy - it was truly empowering women to speak up for themselves and each other in the medical community. It provided a voice for anyone suffering from pelvic floor issues to seek help.”

As for Jenni, Quozette, and I, we are beyond humbled and excited to be a part of this experience. Per Richard, "Everyone has come back from these experiences profoundly changed." 

 If you would like to support this program, we are open to your ideas, expertise, and connections. You can also make a tax-deductible donation to The Jackson Foundation here.

If you have connections to help us bring donations of pelvic health supplies, please contact one of us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

For further information:

Read about Richard Jackson.

• https://www.middleburglife.com/world-class-care-at-the-jackson-clinics/
• https://www.orthopt.org/uploads/content_files/files/Jackson.pdf
• https://www.teachandtreat.org/

Read about the 2019 pelvic health training in Kenya:

• https://hermanwallace.com/blog/pelvic-floor-level-1-is-heading-to-kenya
• https://hermanwallace.com/blog/week-one-at-kenya-medical-training-college-in-nairobi-kenya
• https://hermanwallace.com/blog/the-second-course-module-in-nairobi-kenya

Read more about PT in Kenya:

• https://www.physiotherapykenya.com/
• https://world.physio/membership/kenya
• https://www.spinehealthsportsinjuryclinic.com/services/women-health