News from our Missions
Ang'iya - Kenya
Sisters Mien, Judith and Gaudencia work in a health programme providing basic health services in a remote rural area of Homa Bay, near Lake Victoria. They run a small dispensary and offer child welfare and antenatal and midwifery services; and they have a small laboratory where they are able to carry out voluntary testing and counselling for HIV/AIDS.
An outreach programme takes health services to the outlying villages, with home visits to patients with AIDS.
The sisters train community health workers, from among the people of surrounding villages, with classes on home treatment of common diseases, home nursing and the treatment of patients with AIDS.
News from Ang'iya - taken from Sr Mien's annual report 2008
The area where we are living and working is poorly developed. A lot of our energy is used to teach the people the value of self-development and not dependence on others. Slowly but surely we are seeing a change. At the same time we also have people around us who have nothing, people who lost everything during the clashes of 2007. These people need to be helped first before they can organise themselves again, in order to survive. Our slogan is to teach the people "how to fish" instead of "giving fish".
The beginning of 2008 was very difficult for us to do our work. The post-election clashes caused shortages of many things such as medicine, food and petrol. Shops and transport vehicles were burnt. The violence closed many health centres. Ang'iya, despite threats of violence and arson, remained open, serving an even larger area than normal.
In the meantime we have been able to open our laboratory, enabling us to prevent the spread of HIV from mother to child.
The first group of newly trained community health workers received their certificates
in December 2008 and are very
active in home-based care in their villages. Youth programmes are in full swing including HIV and AIDS prevention, improved farming practices, football and volleyball.
Ang'iya presents many opportunities to work with the people, respond to their needs and to work together for a better future for the children in the fight against AIDS.
Past issues of Medical Mission News