Construction Progress

It was a big day on the construction site in mid-March when the intermediate floor for our women's shelter was poured. This involved a lot of manual labour; dozens of workers were bustling about the site. Only a single small machine helped mix the concrete.

Domestic violence is widespread in Cameroon. There are very few support structures for victims. In African culture, men hold a special position and view women as their property. When a man is angry, he can hit his wife. He can do whatever he wants, even throw her out.

Young women and even teenagers become pregnant at an early age because they lack adequate sex education. And many fathers disown their daughters when they come home pregnant and often even send them back to their abusive partners. If they don't want to stay there, they end up on the streets or—if they have no education—in prostitution.

For women with such difficult backgrounds, the ACP women's shelter will be a place where they can recover for a few months and receive training. Once the second floor is finished, the first woman will be able to move into the house in a few months. We are especially looking forward to that.