This
week, I chatted with a colleague in Tanzania who said that they are still going
to the office to do book work but are concerned about contracting Covid-19. For
example, someone who later tested positive for coronavirus had been at a
wedding. In response, the police had been rounding up all the attendees and
locked them in isolation at a guesthouse in Longido. I talked with other
colleagues in northern Kenya who indicated that while no cases have been
confirmed in Marsabit, they are worried. Their worry is legitimate:
self-distancing is problematic with so many living in close quarters; most
people must go to weekly markets to buy and sell foodstuffs and other household
needs; there is limited medical capacity for testing and treatment; etc. For
those in remote communities with too few and poorly-equipped clinics,
prevention is extremely critical!
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| RETO team responds with information, water & soap in remote communities in Marsabit, Kenya. |
Response
from our local partners, SMTZ and RETO, became much more important, as several
large NGOs closed their doors and sent their staff home without a community
response. In contrast, our partners are grass-roots agencies whose
mission is to serve their communities, and since their staff are local, chose
to continue to serve by collaborating with their government health authorities
in virus prevention.
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| SM-TZ disseminates key government health communication on Covid-19 prevention. |
Tanzanian
staff knew that there was shortage of vehicles in the District, so approached
the District Medical Officer with an offer to use SMTZ vehicles in
disseminating key messages to all of the villages and sub-villages. This was a
huge relief to him, but first, he needed SMTZ staff to translate the messages
into Maa - the language of the Maasai who live in Longido District. Then, they
and health officials took both our vehicles, equipped them with loudspeakers,
and traveled to villages informing them about the virus and prevention
practices, including social distancing and hand washing, that would reduce
risk.
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| Mother & child introduced to a hand washing bucket in Marsabit, Kenya. |
Similarly,
the Kenyan staff in RETO developed a proposal that focused on the most
vulnerable in the communities where they work. In collaboration with the
Ministry of Health, staff went to villages on a motorbike equipped with
loudspeakers, and then made presentations about Covid-19 to groups in all the
sub-villages. Further, recognizing that our beneficiaries are among the most
vulnerable and poorest in their villages, we supported distribution of
hand washing buckets and a three-month supply of soap to 200 households.
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| SM-TZ communities learning about Covid-19 and prevention. |
Both
District health staff and the community members were exceedingly appreciative
of our support. Thank you Sauti Moja donors for making this important
work possible!
