What would the world be without Health Care Workers. This year 2012's World Humanitarian Day celebrates the unsung heroes of the world "Community Health Care Workers". When I was in Wongonyi Village in Kenya this past June I learned of the amazing work that Beatrice Whanga is doing. I first met Beatrice on our trip to the village in 2008 when she was the Assistant Chairperson of the Ushirika Ladies Group (affectionately known as "The Poultry Ladies") for they had banded together raising chickens to generate income to help support their families. But that is a story for another time. In the recent past Beatrice learned of a great need in the community, that of community health care, and she has now dedicated her life to filling that need. Although there does exist a District Hospital in the Mwambira District of the Taita Taveta Hills, it's strategic location in the centre of the four villages of Wongonyi, Mrangi, Mole and Makaleri means that it is a one to two hour walk from any of these villages to the hospital. So understandably, people wait until they are really sick to make the trek to the hospital at which point they are usually too ill to be served by the hospital which lacks anything more than basic health care, so you get sent to the hospital at Voi 40 km away, which also lacks resources. The end result is that if you are really ill you will usually die. Not a successful outcome. Beatrice realized that many people lacked knowledge about basic health and nutrition and many like the elderly or disabled can't even get to a hospital if they need one due to the hilly terrain. Beatrice has been known to carry someone too ill to walk on her back or pushed in a wheelbarrow in the middle of the night one hour to the hospital.
Beatrice has made it her mission to provide health care visits in homes to the people of Wongonyi and surrounding villages. She educates people on health issues and when care is needed. Not all of the stories are pretty ones, like the young mother, a teenager, who left her baby on a table and the baby rolled off and into the fire burning a large part of it's tiny body. The young mother didn't know enough to seek medical attention. But things are beginning to change with Beatrice's home visits. The amazing part of this story is that Beatrice does this all without being paid and with a lack of resources because she believes someone needs to address the issue. On my recent trip to Wongonyi Village this past June I took over a digital blood pressure monitor. You should have seen Beatrice's face light up when I presented her with this new tool. She was so excited to be able to take people's blood pressure (above you can see her taking Ronnie's blood pressure). The second day she had it she called Ronnie excitedly saying we had saved a life. She had visited a woman and taken her blood pressure which was in the extreme range. Beatrice told the woman to go to the hospital to get medication. The woman didn't believe Beatrice but did go to the hospital. When she arrived she did not tell them why she was sent but asked to have her blood pressure taken and they were shocked. The nurse asked the woman how she had come to the hospital and she said she had walked slowly. The woman was given medication and kept at the hospital until she was able to walk home. At another meeting of 18 women Beatrice askked how many had ever had their blood pressure taken. Only Ronnie's mother Getrude put up her hand. Beatrice said she would be around to visit all the others in the next few days. Since I have been back in Canada Beatrice visits the women on a regular basis monitoring their blood pressure.
Before I came home Beatrice asked for a few more tools that would help her in her job. A stethoscope was one item. In Bracebridge a nurse Way Lem came to our aid and we sent over his two stethoscopes. Again Beatrice was overjoyed. She visited Mwambira hospital to learn their proper use and has been busy with her enhanced health care work. Beatrice is one of the unsung heroes in the world. She also works with the Kaza Moyo Mwambira Support Group( seen below), a multi generational and gender group of HIV positive people in Wongonyi Village helping them with health care issues and trying to assist in finding economic opportunities so that they are able to support their families. Many people shun those with HIV/Aids because they do not understand how HIV/Aids is spread. Beatrice provides hospice care in her home, which requires repairs, when HIV patients are at end of life and have been rejected by their families. She also serves as the midwife for the four villages of Wongonyi, Mrangi, Mole and Makaleri, the last two being a two hour walk from Beatrice's home in Wongonyi Village.
On August 19th - World Humanitarian Day for 2012 and throughout the year - we salute Beatrice Whanga for her outstanding work as a Community Health Care Worker in Wongonyi Village, Kenya.
