Health Program Update - Community Health Workers & Distribution of Sanitary Pads

As part of our Kuku Group Ranch-wide Community Health Worker project, we re-established the community health workers at Iltilal Health Centre. the first meeting with the community hospital committee was held on February 3, and the proposal to enrol the community health workers was passed.

The second meeting was held the following week and the names of the proposed candidates were presented for adoption. A total of 16 community health workers were selected; three of these from the Moilo/Olpusare area. All candidates presented themselves for interviews and briefing on the roles of community health workers. These newly selected CHW's are currently undergoing induction training conducted by the Ministry of Health and sponsored by MWCT.

Meeting with potential community health workers in Iltilal

In the month of February, we also started a rotational CHW forum at the four health facilities within Kuku Group Ranch. This forum brings the community health workers from a particular health centre together for a brief training and joint meal. The purpose of these forums is to foster unity among the CHW's and motivate them towards community health development! They also provide MWCT with a forum to articulate its' health goals for the local community.

The Health Program has a big task this month; thanks for Dr. Michael Brownstein's generous donation, we have been able to distribute reusable cloth sanitary pads to all schoolgirls on Kuku Group Ranch. The objective of the project is to ensure girls are not missing school during menstruation because they do not have the means to purchase sanitary pads. Each girl is given 4 cloth pads (lasting over 1 year), a bar of soap, and a plastic bag to store their pads!

Shokut School Girls

The primary schools in Iltilal, Moilo, Shokut, Marla, Inkisanjani, and Langata were visited this month. We teach them about menstruation, and show them how to use and clean their pads. They were also given to the teachers so that they can assist the children.  

Marlal school girl with cloth sanitary pads