The women's centre in Fishtown

Every morning women from Fishtown set out for the construction of the medica mondiale women's centre.

As early as November 2005, medica mondiale made its first trip to the future project region in Liberia to assess the situation of Liberian women and girls. The River Gee district was soon found to be the most underdeveloped and poorest region in the South East of the country. Fishtown, the capital with some 5000 inhabitants, had yet to be reached by international aid organisations. There was no assistance for women and girls.

Local women's groups were thus happy about medica mondiale’s decision to make the River Gee district and Fishtown the focus of the project. For this reason, the River Gee district government decided to give medica mondiale three hectares of land for the construction of a women's centre. Women from Fishtown immediately volunteered to help with the construction of the building in order to contribute to the project.

Since April, numerous women from Fishtown have been tirelessly at work clearing the land and making bricks for the building project. Despite the rainy season, which makes work in Liberia difficult from May to December, the Fishtown women's centre is to be opened by the end of February. It will then serve as a focal point for women from the River Gee, Sinoe and Grand Gedeh districts.

Women rooting out the forest in Fishtown.
Here the new medica mondiale women's centre will take place.

Now bricks must be produced – jabbed out of the loamy ground and handformed.