Johanniter International, Djibouti
August 2003
Djibouti is one of the hottest places on earth with temperatures reaching 54 degrees Celsius. Life for women evolves around water and its arduous collection and many villages are far from the nearest water points.
Communities are remote with little or no access to basic healthcare. The brutal practice of FGM (female circumcision) is deeply entrenched in local culture as women feel without it they will be undesirable to men. Although the Djiboutian government outlawed FGM, operations are still carried out privately. Infection rates are high and the strict penalties imposed by the state on parents who circumcise their daughters mean people are too scared to seek help if operations go wrong.
The recent establishment of women's groups and educational projects, supported by Johanniter International, is however, bringing about apositive change. The groups provide places where women are encouraged to talk about health issues, never previously discussed in public. Micro credit schemes, and craft cooperatives are helping them generate incomes to help support their families. Rehabilitation of old water sources is also a key part of this project.
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Johanniter International, Djibouti
August 2003
A beneficiary of Johanniters health projects in Deble Village, Djibouti.
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Johanniter International, Djibouti
August 2003
A young girl in a hospital in Djibouti town, supported by Johanniter.
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Johanniter International, Djibouti
August 2003
A woman watches over a female relative who is suffering from acute dehydration in a health center in Deble, Djiobuti, supported by Johanniter.
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Johanniter International, Djibouti
August 2003
An Afar family who benefit from a water project established by Johanniter in Djibouti.
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Johanniter International, Djibouti
August 2003
A woman who suffers from TB in an infectious disease hospital that is supported by Johanniter.
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Johanniter International, Djibouti
August 2003
A woman and her baby at a health clinic in Tadjoura, supported by Johanniter.
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Johanniter International, Djibouti
August 2003
A young girls who suffers from TB in an infectious disease hospital that is supported by Johanniter.
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Johanniter International, Djibouti
August 2003
A member of a women's group that is supported by Johanniter.
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Johanniter International, Djibouti
August 2003
An Afar woman and her baby at a health post near Tadjoura, Djiobuti, that is supported by Johanniter.
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Johanniter International, Djibouti
August 2003
Two young Afar girls collect water on a donkey from a stream, near Tadjoura. Johanniter is currently rehabilitating a water pipe that will enable them to collect water in their village in the near future.
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Johanniter International, Djibouti
August 2003
Water is collected in a goat skin bag at a collection point near Tadjoura. Johanniter is working on the rehabilitation of several water sources in the region.
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Johanniter International, Djibouti
August 2003
A young Afar girl at a water collection point that has been rehabilitated by Johanniter near Tadjoura, Djibouti.
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Johanniter International, Djibouti
August 2003
Bettina Braeunl of Johanniter, Germany, is photographed with the Tadjoura's women's Association.
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