In the Amhara region people primarily practice Orthodox Christianity and speak Amharic as their first language \[[@pone.0207651.ref024]\]. The large majority of the rural population practice agriculture \[[@pone.0207651.ref011]\]. Around 54% of women and 42% of men have never attended school. The median female age upon first marriage in the region is 16 years, the lowest in the country \[[@pone.0207651.ref011]\].

Study population and selection of participants {#sec009}
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The 24 women who were enrolled at different stages of the newly initiated campaign and thus received free surgical treatment for their severe stages of prolapse served as the main informants in the present study (hereafter 'the women'). Eight of the 24 women were followed up for a second interview in their homes some six to nine months following their surgery. The large majority ofwith some of the women who had undergone surgery involved numerous visits to the two study districts where the women lived, which increased the knowledge about the women's home- and village-context through observations.

Healing through '*tsebel'* (holy water) was frequently brought up by the women even from the initial stages of the fieldwork. It was thus decided to include visits to holy water sites to learn more about what this common healing option implied. This visits to the locations of holy water involved participation in the morning prayer and/or the baptism in '*tsebel'* and interaction with women at the sites followed by the detailed writing of field notes. The use of local healers also emerged as important arenas for health care seeking among the women, and interviews with local