Katia Geurts Health Entrepreneur

Originally from Belgium, Katia was trained as a primary school teacher, with an emphasis in art education. Katia has used her skills to support women’s empowerment projects in Khartoum and Kigali. In 2007 Katia created the Mabinti Centre in Dar es Salaam.

A project of CCBRT, the Mabinti Centre seeks to improve the quality of life for women who have received fistula treatment at CCBRT’s Disability Hospital. Fistula is a childbirth related injury caused by prolonged or obstructed labour without timely medical intervention. The consequences of fistula are life shattering: most mothers lose their babies during childbirth, and afterwards suffer from chronic incontinence.

The Mabinti Centre provides a yearlong training program that teaches women a range of important life skills as well as technical skills including sewing, screen-printing, batik, beading, and crochet. The women develop not only the necessary business and vocational skills, but most importantly, the confidence needed to successfully set up and operate their own business.

Katia fervently believes that “one of the best things anyone can do for women is to educate and empower them”.