The height of AEREC’S ambition for many years has been the construction of a medication in Africa. The Presidency worked hard in order to individuate among so many requests the most urgent but feasible situation.
Having cooperated for a long time with the Institute S. Mary Consoler, we also knew about the various missions of the congregation in the world. One of them is situated in Abidjan in the Ivory Coast, where some sisters assist the poorest and instruct novices.

The people of a group of villages, in despair for the complete lack of health assistance, donated the congregation a piece of land of about 6 hectares pleading them for the construction of a small hospital. This plan, however, remained hold over for some time on account of the lack of money until the Mother Superior told us about it. Finally we have found OUR mission!

The rural region of Songon comprises 5 villages with about 10.000 very poor inhabitants. The near lagoon does not provide them with enough fish and the harvest of the plantations is barely enough to survive, but not sufficient for industrial or commercial purpose. The roads and the transportation are very bad so that it is very difficult, in case of illness or childbirth, to reach Abidjan that, in any case, offers insufficient and expensive and hence not affordable assistance.
Our project contemplates first of all the construction of a medication of about 1.800 square meters offering first aid, labour and delivery rooms, surgery, neonatology and paediatrics, geriatrics, vaccination and prevention, rooms for in-patients. It will be conducted by the sisters and missionaries and by local staff formed by our Italian voluntary physicians who, however, will regularly and by turns operate there.

At present, the state of work corresponds to 80% and we expect to open it before summer. In the meantime fund-raising and the collection of medical supplies and sanitary ware continue.
In a second moment, the project will be extended to an orphanage, a formation centre for women and small workshops in order to grant the women a job and to support the economic growth of the villages.

00199 Roma - Italia - Via Sebino, 11

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E-Mail: info@aerec.org