The young women's center will be a resource and health center that will provide preventive care, diagnosis and treatment of diseases. The clinic seeks to provide specialized gynecological services which are not readily available to most women due to financial constraints. The women's center will also treat complications resulting from Female Genital Mutilation and restore them if possible. In addition to health services, the clinic also seeks to empower women through education and social service
The United Nations has called for the immediate end to the ancient practice of female genital mutilation. FGM is performed to control women's sexuality by removing parts of the female genitalia and in some cases, sewing closed the vaginal opening (infibulation). Worldwide, 6000 of girls each day are mutilated and in the Gambia 76% of women are subjected to FGM. There is a lack of support and counselling for survivors of FGM and young girls who are at risk.
Safe Hands for Girls is breaking the cycle of FGM in the Gambia and in the United States through education, respectful and transformative dialogue, and providing resources for FGM survivors. We work directly in communities in the Gambia and in Atlanta, Georgia. We seek to build a young women's center in the Gambia which will help prevent FGM and support survivors. We will also provide a legal aid services to victims of FGM, domestic violence, rape and other forms of violence against wome
In 2 years, in collaboration with national campaigns against FGM we hope to decrease the FGM prevalence rate by at least 25% . In the clinic Doctors and midwives in the Gambia will be trained to provide specialized care to victims of FGM. This will help reduce the numerous complications from FGM that occurs at childbirth such as fistulas. In the first 5 years the clinic plans to targets 10,000 corrective surgeries and treatments for victims FGM and Gender Based Violence.
This project has provided additional documentation in a DOCX file (projdoc.docx).
