“I can only protect what I value and respect”.
This was the guiding principle for Dr. Elisabeth Raith-Paula, when in 1999 she set up the MFM Project in Germany. Many of her female adult patients, when taught about their fertility had asked, “Why haven’t we been told this before?” This gave her the insight to write a book to teach young girls the signs of fertility. Later, parents’ evenings were set up to help them understand their daughter’s pending puberty. During these sessions, it was suggested that there should be a day training programme to teach the girls. From this request emerged this large, popular European project which also includes the boys workshop.
Since 1999, the demand for the MFM Project has grown rapidly reaching over more than half a billion girls, boys and parents. In 2002, the MFM Project was awarded the prestigious Bavarian health promotion and disease prevention award; in 2003 it was awarded a “best-practice project” of the European Union and in 2004 it received a scholarship in counseling (Start-Social McKinsey). In 2010 Dr Raith-Paula has been awarded with the Federal Cross of Merit and in 2012 she became an Ashoka Fellow www.ashoka.org.