I recently joined some MVP colleagues to help distribute bednets in one of the more remote communities in the cluster. After 1.5 hours of driving along very bumpy roads, re-routing because of flooding and almost having to swim the last few metres to the village, we arrived.
Our day was spent slowly moving between each dwelling, ticking names off lists with the help of the CHEW (Community Health Extension Worker) to make sure everyone got the right number of nets for their family. As usual, this kind of activity (with not 1 but 2 obronis !!) created much excitement with the children, and several came with us for part of the day. If you look closely in the photo below, you’ll see some of our “entourage” peeking through the fence!!
We walked around for about 3 hours and although that was not physically demanding, I found the heat and humidity a real challenge. I’d hope to have acclimatised a bit in 4 months, but certainly didn’t feel it on that day ?! Before leaving, my colleagues Francis and Osu spoke to the children in the school about bednets, reinforcing the message to use them at home.
It felt good to contribute to an activity which, although simple, can have such an immediate and direct impact on health, in particular, the spread of malaria.
