8/2/2019 Health Systems Partners Offers Hope for Thousands of Children at the Heart of R. Valley

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Trip to screen children at Ewaso for health conditions.

Introduction: In Kenya, approximate 115 children out of 1000 die from common preventable problems.

30% of Kenya Children have stunted growth leading to delayed mental, physical and psychological

development resulting to poor perfomance in schools and the society in general. My Ministry and health

systems partners has set to change this trend through a comprehensive school health program

Today we visit Ewaso Nyiro, a new cluster where we plan to enroll 1400 more children in this program.

 Ewaso Nyiro also known as Guaso Nyiro is about 97 Km from the city centre(Nairobi) right inside the Jungle on the base of Rift valley. My team set out on Saturday 17 th  to screen about 100 children who have no other health provider asome have never had a contact with the Doctor. Health Systems Partners a pion

 project of Tentmakers international has a one of its Kind Comprehensive SchoolHealth program (CoSHE). In this program we have enrolled so far 4000 childin orphanages, schools (public and faith based) where we screen for health probleexamine, treat and refer children with various health and psychological problems

 Armed with weighing scale, height board, other examination equipment and druwe leave Nairobi. With me was Lea Wambui (program coordinator, Geoffrey 

 Njihia. Our mission being first to meet Ewaso Nyiro School Program staff and100 children from 2 centres ie Nanjile and Ewaso. I had a problem finding howto get there on time as my car is not meant for off-road. Anticipating a hard timwe set from Nairobi at 8am.

The road to Ewaso

looks something lik

this…..You just can’

tell which rout to

take…sort of like a

maze

8/2/2019 Health Systems Partners Offers Hope for Thousands of Children at the Heart of R. Valley

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When we got stuck one of the guide we had had to “dig through a dry river” to create away

Had to stop on the way to EWASO to

greet local guys feeding their cattle

and women seen here getting somewater for their family after walking for

a long distance…. In my conversation

with one community leader here I

realized that their number one

problem here is that the next health

facility is approximately 60 km away

and that they don’t have means of 

ferrying sick children and women to

the hospital

Lea had a chat with local children as I

check the direction to the Children

centre. We certainly got lost

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After the day we had seen all the children. The interaction was great and managed to conduct baseline

health assessment. We plan to get back there to assess still another cluster in April 2012. Health systems

Partners has an ambitious goal of influencing the health, social and spiritual (character development for

a million children in the next 20 years in preparation for Vision 2030 and next generation. Read this blog

for more information.

© 2012 Health Systems Partners

Right Frederick and Geoffrey checking on the Children

from the centre.

Below. Some of the children who came to be screened

for health conditions.