This American holiday is about sharing, and this year that must include the sharing of programs and resources to promote good health and to prevent and treat illness. While we give thanks for the blessings in our lives, we also remember the people in need who live in our own communities and around the world. For fortunate people, Thanksgiving means a bountiful meal, but for far too many people living in underserved communities, on this day, like every day, they face starvation and malnutrition from food scarcity, as well as disease, political conflict and climate change-linked extreme weather.
Thanksgiving is a time to reflect and plan on how we can use our time, talents and resources to help people who face hunger, dislocation and illness. To everyone who has made our programs possible, and to everyone who has used them to improve their own health and the health of their communities, all of us at WiRED send you our sincere best wishes during this season of thanks.
Spotlight on WiRED’s Community Health Workers (CHWs) in Western Kenya
WiRED is genuinely thankful for the CHWs who labor tirelessly in their communities where they reach an astounding average total of 10,000 people each month with healthcare assistance.
These CHWs are a paraprofessional corps of local people expertly trained using WiRED’s World Health Organization-compliant curriculum, along with a requirement for continuing study to build skills and competency.
Our CHWs offer a host of services that elevate the health of their communities. Along with providing basic clinical services, CHWs improve health behaviors such as adherence to HIV antiretroviral therapy, diabetes management and TB treatment completion, childhood immunization and early prenatal care. They offer health education and health surveillance and become the bridge between their communities and the formal health system.
Here are their names of people on WiRED’s CHW team in Kisumu:
Collins Guda
Tracy Agatha Achieng’
Liz Adhiambo
Bunnyce Atieno
Imelda Anyango
Emily Ayua
Pauline Adhiambo
Mildred Digolo
Daniel Ayieko
Zachary Omondi
Nelly Oyule
Millicent Randiki
Milka Nyadiang’a
Linet Awuor
Lency Mmbone
Irene Achieng
Carren Osomo
Daniel Ochien’g
Steve Wonder
Denis Onyango
Vincent Ochieng
Juliette Omollo
REMINDER: Donate to the Sister Bernadette Sunshine Mitzvah Fund
This holiday season people in the western region of Kenya, where WiRED International serves, continue to face hunger as the climate change-related drought and the ongoing war in Ukraine make food increasingly scarce and more expensive.
WiRED’s assistance with the Sister Bernadette Sunshine-Mitzvah Fund provides funds to support the purchase of groceries for people in the region’s poorest communities. Help around Christmas is especially important for families with children. All money collected goes directly to purchase food — with zero spent on administration or on anything else.