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WHY WE ARE BUILDING THE KENSWED MATERNITY & HEALTH CENTER
I met with a small family, mother, father and their 7-month old baby. When I asked about the health care situation here, they said it’s too far away and told me a story about a young boy who passed away last month. It can be very cold here in Kenya, and the boy caught pneumonia. He died while walking to the health clinic in Ngong, 10km away. It was too far for him to walk while sick. Many people when sick wait until the next day to walk for health care, as it can be too dangerous to walk at night, resulting in them getting sicker.
I spoke with the mother about her birth to her baby girl, and she said she had to get a cesarean operation in Nairobi, which cost KSH 60 000 (SEK 5 400), plus transportation cost, and 5 days recovery cost for bed and food. She was able to receive pre-natal and ante-natal care in Ngong, 10km away. She said the health clinic we are building now is “very good, closer to walk.” Her husband commented saying that it will save transportation costs for many people and that he thinks “the new health clinic will reduce maternal deaths” and that “it will be good for women”.
In the surrounding area live 40 000+ people, as the community is growing larger in population. Today was a mixed day of emotions, empathy and sadness for the boy who lost his life because he didn’t have access to close health care, but also hope. Hope in the Kenswed Maternity & Health Center, to provide proper health care to the people living here, so that no more unnecessary lives are lost.
Morgan Young
Lööf Foundation representative
