By Paula Murira | Field monitor & Social Media Manager
Not their real name *
It had been two days since Pastor Ndegwa* had been seen or heard. This was quite peculiar since he always played loud gospel music every morning while preparing for work. After that, he usually took his sweet time to polish his shoes at the doorstep while engaging in useless banter with the neighbours around. The children loved to play with him. It was worrying for no one to see him for more than a day.
Esther Akeno, CHAT CORP, and the other neighbours decided to knock down his door after knocking for over an hour without a response. The door had been locked from the inside, so they were sure that he was in. Once they got in, they found a frail-looking man sweating profusely. He had a high fever and had not eaten for two days. He had only survived on water which took him all his strength to drink. Despite the high fever, he was shivering and asking for more blankets to shield himself from the cold. His usually very loud voice was no louder than a whisper. The neighbours quickly took him to the hospital. None of them had thought of protecting themselves in case it might be COVID 19.
After going through tests, indeed, he did have C-19. It was no question as to where he had got it from. Being someone who interacts with myriads of people daily, it was not a shock, but as to who among his faithful flock had passed it, was the mystery. Ndegwa* was started on treatment as the rest of the neighbours quarantined themselves to ensure that they were safe with their families. Since Esther had already sensitised and taken all her neighbours to get vaccinated, they were not worried.
Pastor Ndegwa* recovered a few days after Christmas. Although he had celebrated Christmas on a hospital bed, he was determined to end the year with a flourish! He invited all his friends to church, but he was very strict with observing the C-19 protocols. He ensured adequate social distancing, sanitising and that everyone had masks on. He confirmed everyone’s temperatures were taken. He was on the front line sensitising and referring his congregation for vaccines to ensure they were fully protected. He kept saying that experience was the best teacher and as a survivor of the deadly virus, he was not going to let anyone he knows go through the agony he did.
CHAT reached a total of 30,128 people with integrated family planning & COVID 19 behaviour change communication (bcc).
CORPs continue to make and follow up on referrals, distribute face masks, soap, hand sanitisers. They provided hundreds of 5 litre & 20-litre containers for constructing simple hand-washing stations for C-19 prevention.
“We are encouraged by the rollout of safe and effective vaccines, but the truth is simple: No person is safe until all — everyone, everywhere — are safe, and no country is safe until all countries are safe. Only by working together can we ensure that no one is left behind. Only by working together can we recover better and build a world where everyone thrives in peace, dignity, and equality on a healthy planet. It is possible, together.” Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations
By Paula Murira | Field monitor & Social Media Manager
By Paula Murira | Field monitor & Social Media Manager
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