Poland in Kenya

Like the rest of the world, Kenya is struggling with the COVID-19 pandemic. Fighting the virus on the African continent is particularly difficult. Health services are underfunded and lack basic equipment as well as qualified personnel. Following basic hygiene rules vital for COVID-19 prevention is a challenge, too. Access to clean water, bathrooms, toilets, disinfectants, and personal hygiene products is scarce. It is also difficult to keep social distance and respect the movement ban while most of the society earn their living through jobs that require movement and intensive people-to-people contacts (such as selling products in a local market). Travel restrictions make many families face hunger and malnutrition. The mission in Kithatu takes the effort to address these challenges.

Since 1990, the mission run in Kithatu village by the Missionary Sisters of the Holy Family, about 200 kilometers north from Nairobi, has been catering for the needs of the poor inhabitants of the mountainous Meru county. The mission houses a kindergarten, primary school, sewing school, and a health centre, which admits about 7,000 patients per year. The clinic also runs vaccination programmes and helps pregnant women. In 2015 a maternity unit was opened and two years later a clinic in Mwichiune was established. Polish Aid has been supporting the mission’s relief operations for years.

The project by Redemptoris Missio Humanitarian Aid Foundation implemented in Kithatu in 2020 and funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland under the call for applications “Polish humanitarian aid and development assistance in response to the COVID-19 pandemic,” supported the health centre run by the missionaries and its Holy Family Children Centre built in 2017, also with Polish Aid's support.

Upon the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic, the health centre in Kithatu had to manage an increased number of patients, as other local facilities closed because of the fear of the virus. According to the missionaries, at the beginning of the pandemic, both private and public clinics did not admit any patients due to lack of disinfectants and personal protective equipment. These facilities reopened as late as in mid-May 2020, but the fees increased significantly. Most of the local community members could not afford such expensive healthcare. At that time, the clinic run by missionaries could only operate thanks to external support. To sustain the positive effect of the preventive measures undertaken in the initial phase of the pandemic, the health centre and the children centre had to be adapted to handle increased number of people in need, and provided with protective equipment and hygienic products. Additionally, this kind of support was also provided to the local community.

Under this project, the two establishments were equipped with additional toilets and bathrooms. The children facility gained some additional bedrooms. Both were equipped with basic personal hygiene products, cleaning supplies and disinfectants. Moreover, as part of the project, local residents received safety packs including disinfection liquid, soap and a face mask. Women after delivery and mothers with small children also received a blanket and a reusable nappy.

It should also be noted that local workers were employed at the construction site and helped with adaptation of the buildings. Thus, locals who lost their jobs due to mandatory isolation were being activated professionally, and as a result got an important source of income in these troubled times.

The project was completed in December 2020.