The Women´s Shelter

(Closed for the time being due to Covid-19 related reasons.)

Oum El Banine has a home for the women where they can live before and after giving birth. It is a two-room apartment situated in the district of Essalam in Agadir.

There is room for 6-7 women and it is for the most time full. The women usually come during the last month of the pregnancy. After giving birth they can stay for another 40 days. In the women's shelter the women get economic, medical and psychological help. If needed, they can also get help in the administrative and legal domains.

The purpose is, as far as possible, to make the women's house feel like a home for the women. Since they have been forced to leave their families, the other pregnant women often become their new security and support. Oum El Banine is trying and succeeding to create a safe environment for the women and their babies. After giving birth the women are prepared for a life as single parents. The women are also informed about their basic rights.

There is also practical help available. Some women can benefit from education preparing for work. They all get help in the search for a work and an apartment. They can rent a room on their own or together with other single mothers - sharing costs and responsibility. Many of them can get an employment in some of the numerous fish factories in Agadir, in a restaurant kitchen or as housekeepers in families. These are not highly qualified works - it is difficult to get, even for those who have an education - but it makes it possible for the women to support themselves and their children. Oum El Banine make sure that the employments are serious. And while working, the mothers can leave their babies in Oum El Banine's daycare centre.