Reduce Suffering in Kenya Via Health Care Services

* Not their real name

Naisherua* is a 29 years old lady and a mother of 7, with the youngest being one and a half years old. She lives in Olkinyei and had to walk for hours to meet the CHAT team to get family planning since she doesn’t want more children.

“I am the third wife to a 54-year-old man who recently married a young lady and doesn’t provide for the family. He said he had to marry a younger girl since he can’t walk with me because I look older than him, although I am fifteen years younger! I am a school dropout. My father forced me to get married so that he could have more wealth from my dowry, and now here I am with nothing but the burden of providing for that old man and his children with the little I get from selling goats milk.” Naisherua narrated.

“When CORP Margaret came to our home to teach us, my husband was drunk into a stupor. He did not even oppose what she was saying. He just wanted her to finish and leave. I took her teachings seriously, so I had to come to this car for the 5-years implant she talked about. I cannot have more children, and my co-wife is pregnant. I can only dread her having as many children as I do. Maybe I will help her when she finally has her first child.” She continued.

“Most of the women within my manyatta are as young as 13 years, have at least 3-4 kids, and are still giving birth; I have agreed to try and use the five-year FP contraception method. I am trying my best to provide for my children. I will ensure they will have a better education than I did, and for those who will be married, I will ensure that they have information on fp so that they don’t undergo the same as me.” Naisherua finished. “I am thankful to CHAT and the donors who have made it possible for my community and me to receive these invaluable services,” Naisherua smiled as she returned home.

Thanks to GG support, in the past three months, CHAT was able to reach a total of 8,315 individuals with behaviour change information (bcc). 1,211 fp clients received different contraception methods of their choice, of which 902 chose the long-term pregnancy protection methods of either 3 or 5 years - against unwanted pregnancies.

“Birth control is the first important step woman must take toward the goal of her freedom. It is the first step she must take to be a man’s equal. It is the first step they must both take toward human emancipation.” - Margaret Sanger

*Not their real names*

We met *Kanana on a Sunday morning when we briefly stopped at the shopping centre in Miomboni in the Tana River Ecosystem to see whether fp clients needed services. CHAT’s CORP partner, Mercy Kiura, spoke to *Kanana about the services that the CHAT motor mobile clinic offers. Kanana welcomed us to her home, rounded up a couple of women who wanted fp services and continues to let us use her home to provide services.

*Kanana is a thirty-year-old widowed mother of two. She has a small food kiosk, and the income from it is what she relies on to provide for her family, but it can sometimes get difficult to distribute her small income because she needs to make sure there is food on the table, a roof over their heads, clothes on their backs and for her children go to school. Her children are both in primary school. Her eldest is ten years old, and her youngest is seven.

She shared that her husband was in the army and was away for long periods. During one of these periods, Kanana suspects he got HIV. It was only after he passed away that she suspected he might have infected her with it, which she confirmed to be true from the local health dispensary. Her husband was the ‘breadwinner’ of their family, but now she had to fill in and support her children independently.

Kanana has a clear drive to provide for her children, and for her, family planning is a necessary measure. Kanana told us that she has been using a short-term fp method because she did not know about long-term fp contraceptive methods. She was happy to learn about the benefits of the long-term methods, especially as it will save her from having to go out every three months to get the 3-month pregnancy protection injectable method - Depo. The 3-month pregnancy protection method meant that she would have to close her kiosk during working hours to go to a clinic, but now she needs no more time off for that!

The major benefit of fp for Kanana is that she can stop having children completely and focus on raising her two children. She tells us that what drives her is the hopes and dreams of her children; her son wants to become a doctor, and her daughter, a teacher.

Thanks to GG support, in the past three months, CHAT was able to reach a total of 11,943 individuals with behaviour change information (bcc). 3,097 fp clients received different contraception methods of their choice, of which 2,073 chose the long-term pregnancy protection methods of either 3 or 5 years - against unwanted pregnancies.

“Birth control is the first important step woman must take toward the goal of her freedom. It is the first step she must take to be a man’s equal. It is the first step they must both take toward human emancipation.” - Margaret Sanger.

Links:

• CHAT Organizational Profile