9th May, 2008
14 Feb 2008
On an open ground in the heart of the sprawling Kibera slums, nine-month old baby Ryan lets out a feeble cry as he reaches for a bag his mother is holding in her hand. The clicking bottles arouse his curiosity, but the mother, Irene Musinzi holds him back.
Ryan has blisters on his neck and hands. His mother attributes this to teargas effects, “The teargas (canister) was thrown by the police at a rioting mob near my house in Mashimoni (a village in Kibera). The canister exploded emptying its contents in my house.”
She says that her single roomed shack was filled with the white smoke and shortly after that, Ryan’s blisters started appearing.
From the paper bag, Irene fishes out a skin ointment, a small bottle of a multi-vitamin and another containing a cough syrup. “I have been looking for this (pointing at the skin ointment) to apply on his neck in vain. Now I have it and I guess Ryan will smile too,” she happily says.
More such scenarios - smiles of hope punctuated with baby cries and music from the background and occasional announcement urging people to attend the free treatment - characterise the AMREF mobile clinics in Kibera. In response to the post-electoral violence, AMREF is heeding people’s cries for health solutions. The clinics are an emergency response to assist the displaced as well those who though staying in their neighbourhoods will not risk an encounter with bloodletting gangs on the prowl in the vast Kibera slums.
AMREF is offering treatment for diseases but also teaching local community members on ways to avoid common diseases through simple hygiene; the clinics also offer child health; VCT; laboratory and family planning services.
Majority of those seeking services at the AMREF mobile clinics are women and children. 12 cases of measles have already been reported while a majority of the sick- about four out of every 10 - had diseases of the respiratory system. In Kibera, most of the residents are employed in the informal sector or in low-paying jobs and in the present chaos many have lost employment and are relying on food donations.
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