Lifesaving AidPods for 65,000 African children

Sometimes the simplest, low-cost solutions make a huge difference.

The world's health experts have known for over a decade how to treat the world's second biggest killer of young children: diarrhoea. Oral Rehydration Salts and Zinc are cheap, easy to distribute, and simple to use in the home - in theory. Hardly a 'miracle' breakthrough'.

But this is how ColaLife's 'Kit Yamoyo' is now being welcomed in African villages.  

Jude and her baby girl, Mushala, live in Namushakende Village, on the edge of the Zambezi river floodplain. It's a day's drive from the capital, and 25 kilometres from the Provincial town, Mongu. In the wet season, the whole area can be inundated: great for cattle farming on the newly green plains, but not so good for a clean water supply for families. A careful mother, Jude tells us she always treats the family's drinking water to make it safe and she takes care with hygiene. But Mushala is 16 months old - just at the age when children everywhere begin to explore their world, and as Jude says: 'With children, you can’t always see what they put in their mouth.'  

Jude had never heard of Kit Yamoyo until Mushala became seriously ill with diarrhoea: "I thought it was just an episode of a bad tummy and it would soon clear up," she told our Project Officer, Akufuna Ngenda. "But the diarrhoea did not stop. Instead it worsened. Rapidly the baby became very weak. As she deteriorated, I rushed to the Health Centre, which fortunately is very near the village."

But as often happens, government distribution systems can struggle and the Health Centre didn't have the medicine that Mushala needed in stock.

She continues her story: "They scolded me for delaying to come to the Health Centre. But they told me to go and get a new pack that had come to the village shop: Kit Yamoyo.

"I went to the shop immediately and bought the kit. I was in a hurry to give my baby the medicine because she had become very weak. But the shop-keeper, Mr. Liwena, has been trained in how to use this kit and he stopped me for a while to explain to me how the kit works.

"I followed his instructions and started the treatment. It was easy to understand and mix up the Oral Rehydration Salts at home. I also started the Zinc tablets immediately. The diarrhoea stopped on the second day and I thought it was a miracle!"

Indeed, Mushala now looks strong and healthy - it's difficult to imagine how quickly she became so ill and how suddenly her life was in danger.

Jude went back to Mr. Liwena and told him how good the kit was. He reminded her to continue with Zinc for the full 10 days, as it helps strengthen children's immunity. Jude followed his advice - and the diarrhoea hasn't returned.  Now Jude has become a local advocate for Kit Yamoyo, and tells her friends and neighbours in the market about it, whenever she gets the chance.

Mushala is now one among thousands: when ColaLife began developing a new design for a rehydration pack to stop children dying from diarrhoea, we never imagined what a difference it could make to so many lives.

This great story brings together many of the simple solutions that your donations support: wider distribution of a better designed anti-diarrhoea kit, easy to use, easily sourced in the village from well trained shop-keepers - and backed by supportive government Health Centres.

Even the simplest solutions can bring a small miracle.