Report on Medical Outreach program in Mbuye Village in Honor of the Late George

 

CONTEXT:
The AfyaMtaani Team conducted a medical outreach in Mbuye Village, a rural community in Siaya County with limited access to quality healthcare services. The late George Orimba Odero, especially through his work with PBF, championed community health, education, and healthy nutrition for the poor of the poorest. One of his heartfelt dreams was to take medical care to underserved rural communities—particularly within his home village, Mbuye – where the elderly,

children, and those living with chronic illnesses, face challenges accessing medical attention due to poverty and distance. The late George used to organize a soccer tournament for youths in the area and would award jerseys to the participating youths. He had the welfare of the Community and would always lend an ear to Community members as they expressed the medical challenges they were encountering, especially due to gaps in healthcare provision within the government-run

dispensary in the area. Through the medical outreach, the AfyaMtaani Team sought to keep George’s vision alive, besides forging partnerships with the Community that would enable this dream comes true.

RAPID APPRAISAL HEALTHCARE GAPS IN MBUYE VILLAGE:
During George’s Burial, I interacted with women in Mbuye Village – they shared the challenges that community members encounter in their quest to access healthcare. Some of the gaps and challenges include:

• The area has only 1 healthcare facility; a government-run dispensary that is not well-stockedboth in terms of essential medicines and medical equipment. The healthcare facility is quite a distance from Mbuye Village.

Mortality of children under 5 years of age is high due to the constraints in medicines and

• medical
• Chronic poverty in the area constrains many area residents from accessing healthcare. As a result,morbidity is high. NB many of the deaths are preventable with optimal healthcare provision.

These include deaths from malaria, pneumonia and sickle cell. These occur due to misdiagnosis or inability to diagnose the medical conditions – due to the constraints in medicines and medical

equipment. Diabetes, arthritis and hypertension are some other medical conditions with a debilitating effect in the community.

2 PLANNING FOR THE OUTREACH:
On identifying the gaps in healthcare, I approached Dan and proposed that AfyaMtaani needs to

hold a medical outreach in Mbuye Village in memory of George; the outreach would also serve to

sensitize the Community about gaps within the healthcare system, besides which the event would

also be cathartic for a community that had lost an illustrious son.

Some activities planned for the outreach included community mobilization and sensitization prior to the outreach; plus, health education, free medical checkups and treatment, referrals for specialized interventions, and a special tribute session in remembrance of George, highlighting his service and vision. Based on the resources available, the AfyaMtaani Team hoped to reach 150 members of the Community; however, around 200 members of the Community were engaged during the medical outreach.

Funds slated for the outreach went into fueling the PBF van for the trip – to and from Mbuye Village; procurement of medicines and medical equipment for the outreach; reagents for lab tests; banner; token/allowance for Community Volunteers; painkillers and First Aid Kits for youths who have been participating in a soccer tournament that was initiated by the Late George in the area; catering for the Community Volunteers, AfyaMtaani Team and Local Administration involved in the outreach.

PARTNERING WITH THE COMMUNITY IN ACTIVITIES IMPLEMENTATION:
During the medical outreach, the AfyaMtaani Team was supported by a Nurse from the Community and Community Health Volunteers serving the village. The youths who take/took part in soccer tournaments also supported the AfyaMtaani Team by organizing and guiding residents who came to participate in the outreach. The Area Chief {Local Administration} supported the exercise through awareness-creation and mobilization of area residents to participate in the event. The partnerships served to strengthen the relationship between PBF/AfyaMtaani and the local community.

FEEDBACK FROM THE COMMUNITY:
After the medical outreach, which was held in Dan Amolo’s compound, the Mbuye Village Community expressed their gratitude to AfyaMtaani Team for the outreach. They had assumed that after George’s demise, the PBF-supported activities would cease. The Mbuye Community requested that, in the short run, the medical outreach be done more frequently – Quarterly, if possible – with one major annual event to commemorate the Late George. There was also the suggestion that in the long run, the AfyaMtaani Team should help mobilize resources for a major community project – a healthcare facility named in honor of George.

CHALLENGES:
Besides resource and time constraints, one other factor that posed a challenge was that the residents started streaming into the venue of the outreach towards the evening after attending to their respective livelihoods/chores. This made it difficult to carry out activities like the intended health education session and the special commemorative/tribute session that was intended to highlight the service and vision in Mbuye Village and beyond.

RECOMMENDATIONS:
Such expected outcomes as attaining improved access to healthcare services in Mbuye community; strengthening community health awareness and disease prevention practices; and preservation of the late George’s legacy of service through tangible community impact can only be realized over time. To surmount challenges arising due to time constraints, a weeklong medical outreach session ought to be organized. This will enable the AfyaMtaani Team to organize health education sessions and commemorative sessions for the late George; and also enable the Community to unpack, understand, own and modify the healthcare vision that the late George had for the Mbuye Village community.

Formalizing the partnership with the Mbuye Village Community will entail constituting a Team with shared values and a common vision from the Village. The Team would be known as Friends of George. This Team would coordinate on ground outreach events; enable planning for the long run; and, ultimately, enable establishment of the healthcare facility that will be named in honor of the late George. The Friends of George will be comprised of; the Nurse, Community Health Volunteers, Women Leaders, Youth Leaders, Village Elders, Faith Leaders and Local Administration.

Eunice Abok, Project-Coordinator