Touching Lives Beyond the Factory Floor

Project

Samira lives in Ismailia and she is a middle-aged woman with three boys. She is the sole breadwinner of the family because her 84 year old husband is unwell. Samira can barely read and write, but she has proven to be an exceptional HERproject peer educator. Using her strong life skills, she has become a leader of health education in her workplace and her community.

Profile

Model Peer Education

Samira demonstrated enormous commitment to growing her awareness about women’s health through the HERproject peer educator training program. Samira worked on expanding her activities to reach a wide audience—on the bus to and from work, at the mosque, and at the community market. In her efforts she has passed on key health knowledge on anemia, menstrual health, antenatal care, family planning and taboo topics such as female genital mutilation. “I value this knowledge and believe that it is my duty to pass on the messages I am blessed with,” says Samira. She was awarded a certificate of merit by the HERproject team for her contributions as a model peer educator.

Problem Solver

Samira witnesses the sad reality of health ignorance around her everyday. Since becoming a HERproject peer educator, she makes it a point to share information with other women whenever and wherever she can. She describes an incident when she was passing by the village health center and found a woman screaming and vomiting with no doctor available on hand. “When I asked her about her problem, she said that she was on medication without a doctor’s prescription and without knowing the right dosage. I told her about the risks involved in taking over-the-counter drugs”. Afterwards, Samira went to the health center in her neighborhood and asked to volunteer and use her knowledge to encourage other village members to learn about some basic and preventable health practices.

Counselor

Samira was asked by the doctor at the health center to participate in a health campaign on safe pregnancy as a peer educator. The factory management supported her by giving her a day off. The information was met by great interest among the pregnant women present and the factory nurse asked her to give female workers in the factory informative handouts. Samira has now been engaged by the doctor to provide similar information sessions at the health center twice a month.

Empowering the Next Generation

Young girls in Samira’s village have traditionally been too shy to talk to their mothers about reproductive health issues. Now, Samira has become a counselor to many of these girls, who approach her about taboo issues. She is currently seeking accreditation to practice health awareness and pass on health information to her community.

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