Eunita Adoyo, 40 years old, is a community health worker from north Kamagambo, Kenya. Eunita shares her journey in becoming a community health worker and the impact of COVID-19 on her work in the community.
Why did you become a CHW?
I developed a passion towards working with the people in the community [when] I started volunteering for the Kenya Red Cross. I found it quite interesting to work in the community because we got to help people. So, when I relocated to north Kamagambo, I thought it wise to continue the work in the community. That’s why I joined the community health workers.
How did you become a CHW?
I [first] learned through volunteer work with Kenya Red Cross. We gave immunization to children and donated hearing aids to those who were deaf. I found that they were looking for volunteers to help CHWs in the community because some women were giving birth in the community without skilled delivery. Women and children were dying [and] we volunteered to bring the women to health facilities where they could give birth with [medical staff]. As we started to bring them to the health facilities, we noticed that there were [less] deaths. From there I joined the CHWs in the community.
Tell me about a day in your life as a CHW?
When I leave in the morning, I usually take my teaching cards with me. For example, if I’m going to visit a pregnant woman, I take my cards that will help warn her about dangerous health signs. I would also help her choose the facility to go for delivery. So, when the time comes [to give birth], she is prepared and already knows where she is supposed to go.
How has COVID-19 impacted your daily work?
Now a days before I leave to see a patient, I have to do a self-check first to see if I have COVID symptoms. We also do a screening of our patients [to] minimize the risk of transmission. [Typically] we just take our work plan and go, but now we have to do a self-check and patient screening.
Before we [also] used to mobilize people and teach them in a group, but now having a group is a challenge because we cannot gather in large groups. [COVID] has shut down most of our activities. We are focusing on health alone and not the other [educational] activities. The biggest health challenge is that sometimes you find out community members are sick at home. They have all the symptoms but they will not go to the health center for testing because they are afraid.
We [still have to] teach people about how COVID-19 works. We explain to them that if they go to the health center for treatment, they will be quarantined for 10-14 days. After they get the treatment they will be like any normal person. It is not a lifetime sentence.
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