Kenya’s Unsung Heroes
2023 Trip Blog #7
Written by Diana Clarke
Perhaps my favourite activity on Mageta Island has been spending time with and learning from the health care volunteers . These people are definitely the unsung heros of the countryside. They are the face of healthcare in the Beach communities. Although they are on call 24/7 they are considered volunteers and are paid only 2000 shillings a month the equivalent of $20 so are expected to earn a living as well. These folks respond to everything. They described being called to domestic violence situation in the middle of the night where the only option was to take the woman home with them and negotiate peace in the morning. Or being called too late to get a labouring woman to the health centre and having to assist with the birth with no training or resources. They don’t even have First Aid Kits. Births on Mageta Island are high risk, 42% higher than the mainland so sometimes they witness tragedy.
They know their community well enough to know who their vulnerable elders and HIV positive post natal patients are and they visit. Despite its relatively small population (12,000 souls) Mageta produces 70% of the HIV positive infants in the county. These moms need a lot of support to prevent passing their HIV positive status to their baby especially since they are exclusively breastfeeding but they do often succeed! You can imagine how formula feeding is just not an option in this remote cash strapped society. The government supplies HIV medication but the patients have can have a very long walk to the clinic. Here again the HC volunteers can help.
We were lucky enough to tag along on a few visits. We were graciously invited into the homes of some of these vulnerable farmers.
The nicest ones were mud houses in small compounds where the walls were lined with lace curtains and doily’s hung from the rafters. The furniture was simple straight couches in a circle accommodating sometimes 15 residents in the 10×15 room. All the furniture was covered in matching brightly coloured throws. In one home I noticed a small bowl of eggs under the couch and assumed they were stored there. But half way through the visit a hen came in, ducked under the couch and settled herself to sit on her eggs. No one seemed to notice.
In poorer homes, rentals, the house is a 10 by 15 rectangle divided into a bed surrounded by all their belongings and a living space, divided by a curtain. The other living space consisted of the edge of the bed, a small table and opposite some form of couch with barely room to move between. There was a door but no window or ventilation. All somehow spotless with rocks piled neatly by the entrance to decrease the mud tracked in. And I swear they didn’t know we were coming. Many are single moms who work at whatever they can reselling vegetables, making charcoal, one repaired mud and cow dung walls for cash. We asked them for their experiences related to accessing the care they needed. For many the difficulty accessing their medication was an issue either because they could not get to a pharmacy or could not pay. But all of them put help with school fees at the top of their list. For them education was a way forward and they desperately wanted it for their children. Many sacrificed to graduate the eldest from high school then struggled to educate them so they could help the youngest.
The health care volunteer’s response to the question of why they gave so much of themselves to work the did not get paid for was that they loved their community and wanted to help. In response to a question about their wish list they asked for simple First Aid supplies and more training.
Most worked part time at whatever work they could find. Some farmed and needed tools and seeds help to feed their families. Like health care workers everywhere they give from their hearts with all they have but unlike most of us they are unpaid and struggle to make ends meet. Kenya’s unsung heroes. With luck, or as they would say, with God’s help Beyond Limitations may find the resources to help with training and with luck they may be able to participate in one of the gardening initiatives, I hope with all I have the best for these dedicated folks.
