Regular check-ups and vaccination campaigns are carried out among schoolchildren and infants. For Atiya, unemployment among the younger generations has been another major concern. Training programmes have allowed young adults to launch micro-projects. Twenty stalls were built and handed over to young men keen to set up private businesses, while the women have been offered opportunities to work at the schools, the library and the hospital. Illiterate women took needlework classes and received basic equipment to start a home project.
Women now have a say.
They take part in making decisions. Amani Mursi, the supervisor of the sewing workshop, concurs. Women no longer get married early. They have access to information on family planning and health. In the past, you would see women idling in the streets, doing nothing or just gossiping.