Last Saturday, August 22, 2015 Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation opened its Arlington location of the Global Woman Center. The Northern Virginia center is located at 901 South Highland Street, Suite 319 in Arlington, Virginia 22204, a block away from Columbia Pike.
Speaking at the opening of the center were the President of Inter-Africa Committee (IAC-USA), Mrs. Fatoumata Kande-Kouyate and the Program Support Officer of IEDA Relief, Ms. Melissa Deloera. Mrs. Kouyate told those in attendance the sad story of a baby girl that was taken from the U.S. to Guinea, and without her mother’s knowledge, the mother’s relatives performed female genital mutilation on the baby girl. As a result of FGM, the baby died before returning to the U.S. It was the baby of an American father and a Guinean mother. Mrs. Kouyate called for everyone to work together to help eradicate FGM.
Melissa Deloera explained the work that her organization does in parts of Africa. She said that IEDA Relief is excited to partner and collaborate with Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation. Melissa led the group in a jeopardy-style game to test the knowledge of those in attendance on female genital mutilation. Even the children in the room joined in on the game, and turned a grim topic into an afternoon of educational fun.
Also in attendance was Dr. Chari V. Smith of the Novant Health Prince William County OB-GYN Center. Dr. Smith has agreed to join the network of OB-GYNs to whom the Global Woman Center will refer FGM survivors. Dr. Smith has expressed interest in training to perform the restorative surgeries on the survivors.
The Global Woman Center offers support for survivors and at-risk girls of female genital mutilation (FGM). The center creates a place where women and girls who have undergone female genital mutilation (FGM) can feel at ease and share their experiences and stories with each other. They have the choice of one-on-one counseling or group counseling.
The Global Woman Center is now open to receive candidates at both of its locations. The hours of operation at the Arlington location are Monday, Wednesday and Thursday 10:00am until 3:00pm for appointments and at the Washington, D.C. location, only Wednesday and Saturday 10:00am until 12:30pm. All appointments and information are held confidential. Contact us for an appointment by visiting the website at www.globalwomanpeacefoundation.org or calling 703-818-3787.