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Fighting COVID-19 Together

A Time to Give

By CURE International

April 28^th, 2020

“This is the time to give. There can never be a better time to give than today. We are our brother’s keeper, we have to look after our neighbors,” said Mombasa County Governor Hassan Ali Joho in a speech at a warehouse where people were bringing in supplies (food, beverages, clothes, groceries) to give to the less fortunate in the society. During this speech, the Governor called upon everyone in his county to be considerate during these hard times.

The governor is one of many people who are on the front lines encouraging everyone to embrace the spirit of togetherness through giving. At CURE Kenya, we know how important giving is because our supporters, our lovely friends, have demonstrated it to us through donations, messages of encouragement to our patients, and prayers. We are extremely grateful for the love and support.

CURE Kenya is located in a small town called Kijabe. As a small town, most people are familiar with each other, and it is a closely-knit community. With the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is our responsibility as medical service providers to help the community understand what COVID-19 is and how to keep themselves safe.

Ted, from CURE, handed one of the ladies selling groceries some masks.

One of the community members asking a question.

Elizabeth giving out a mask to one of the ladies at a grocery store.

View from inside a grocery store as Simon, from CURE, speaks to the locals about COVID-19 prevention.

Some of the people who live in the community around CURE Kenya are grocery vendors and taxi drivers. These are people who come in direct contact with patients visiting the hospitals in Kijabe. They come very close to people traveling from different parts of the country that are affected by COVID-19, and this puts them at a greater risk of contracting the virus and spreading it to their families and the people around them.

On April 10th, 2020, a few members of the CURE Kenya staff were charged with educating grocery vendors and taxi drivers about best practices to prevent acquiring and spreading the virus. We handed out masks and engaged them in a conversation to answer questions and help them understand why it is important to properly wash their hands and wear a mask. After a short training on proper handwashing, social distancing, cough etiquette, and how to wear masks, we distributed some masks to the members of the community who were able to attend the informal training. Most of these people were very grateful that we took the time to visit them and teach them about the virus. We were able to reach approximately 200 people, and we handed out about 2,000 masks. We continue to encourage the local community to keep practicing proper handwashing and social distancing and to pass on what they had learned.