How did this project begin?
Liberia is a country that suffered through two successive civil wars, between 1989 and 1996 and between 1999 and 2003, with more than 200,000 deaths and an incomplete reconciliation process, which left a society traumatized by the violence suffered or perpetrated, and in dire need of psychological support.
The 2014 West African Ebola epidemic had its greatest impact in Liberia, with more than 10,600 cases and 4,800 deaths, shattering its fragile health system.
It is in this context that We Are Like You was born as one of the projects put in place to rebuild Liberia’s fragile health system.
Sisters Hospitallers, present in the country since 1966, has a health center in the suburb of Pipeline, in the country’s capital, Monrovia. We Are Like You aims to improve the social and health conditions of patients at the health center and to care for women with mental illness thanks to the collaboration between the Benedict Menni health center in Monrovia and Aita Menni Hospital in Arrasate-Mondragon (Gipuzkoa, Spain).
Stages
1. Reopening of Benedict Menni Health Center
Closed in July 2014 because of the Ebola outbreak, its reopening required the construction of two new facilities:
- a triage station for the detection of Ebola symptoms.
- an isolation area for patients with Ebola symptoms.
2. Opening of the Mental Health Unit
In November 2017, the activity of “Step Down Unit”, the Mental Health Unit for rehabilitation exclusively for women, begins.
The services offered by this Unit are:
- Medical and nursing treatment
- Psychosocial intervention with patients and families
- Individualized care plans
- Psychoeducation
- Cognitive stimulation
- Occupational workshops
- Follow-up consultations
- Home visits
3. Outpatient care for patients with mental and behavioral disorders.
Health care is complemented by an outpatient program for people with mental illness, where men, women and minors are treated indistinctly.
4. Training programs
Since its inception, the Center has become a training reference for interns from different academic institutions in the country.
We distinguish between four levels of training:
- Specific training for the Center’s staff.
- Collaboration and training agreements with universities and training centers for students of medicine, nursing, social work, mental health assistants and technicians:
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- M. Dogliotti Medical College (University of Liberia)
- Mother Patern School of Health Sciences (Stella Maris
Polythecnic – University School of Nursing and
Physiotherapy) - Tubman National institute of Medical Arts (Nursing-aid, Laboratory technician and Midwifery.
- Training for healthcare professionals in the field of health by means of training sessions.
- Rotations abroad for professional development in other healthcare environments. These experiences have a double purpose: on the one hand, to get to know different cultural realities, human and technical resources, and on the other hand, to generate an interest in helping and collaborating with Western professionals who welcome, accompany and work with them.
The fact that the project is supported by the experience and knowledge provided by the Aita Menni Hospital guarantees the seriousness of its implementation. Aita Menni currently has specific units for the treatment of all types of patients, combining psychiatric and psychological aspects, being a pioneer in the combination of efforts and in the understanding of the person and mental illness from a multidisciplinary perspective.
Beneficiaries
- Individuals using medical services in the Pipeline environment.
- People with mental illness.
- People who require psychological help.
- People with mental and behavioral disorders requiring outpatient care.
- Patients with dual pathology (drug abuse and mental illness).
- People with intellectual disabilities and mental and/or behavioral disorders.
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