RAMALLAH, March  28, 2011 (WAFA) - SAWA, a Palestinian non-governmental institution working for women’s and children’s rights, celebrated Monday the opening of its “mobile clinic.”

The project aims at empowering and supporting marginalized women who are exposed to domestic violence.

The mobile clinic consists of a vehicle, provided with experienced staff, that will target geographic areas with domestic violence in order to offer psychosocial support to abused women, helping them to regain their self-esteem.

SAWA provides a phone line service for abused women to call and receive physical and psychosocial treatment.

The organization currently documents 1200 cases of marginalized women treated each month.

SAWA also works with children exposed to violence, aiming to help them by using non-curricular activities such as puppet shows and artwork.

The mobile clinic project will work in all areas of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

The project is funded with $70,000 from the US Consulate. SAWA thanked the Consulate for supporting a project dealing with such a taboo subject.

R.S./F.J.