Gretchen Julie Wagner, Our New Healthcare Coordinator
In addition to giving a helping hand to the family businesses in Kenya, one of VHI’s missions is to help eliminate major health issues in the region. VHI aims to provide the villagers with the information and materials they need to fight and control the dangerous diseases that are endemic to the region. Recently our healthcare force increased by one when Gretchen Julie Wagner joined VHI as the new community healthcare coordinator in the village of Chogoria.
As the healthcare coordinator, Gretchen’s work includes going out to visit homes. The visits play an important role in her work. Here she connects with people, listens to their problems, and learns about the general health and well-being of villagers. In the few weeks she has been with VHI, she has started many initiatives, such as a partnership with one of the local groups, Njurincheke, to conduct a feeding program for the most vulnerable families in the area with a focus on orphans, HIV infected and affected people and elderly people who are left to care for their grand and great-grandchildren. She has also conducted training on the importance of malaria prevention and the proper treatment if this disease is contracted. Training is followed by visits to the homes in the village to ensure that the guidelines given in the training are being followed.
Gretchen is passionate about her work with VHI and her enthusiasm to help the inhabitants of Kenya can be seen in the fascinating blog that she maintains about the happenings in the area and various initiatives starting and in progress. You can live a day in Kenya with the stories she tells in her blog at http://gretchenjuliewagner.blogspot.com/It is amazing to know that she, along with working for this wonderful cause, notices the simplest cultural variations and takes the time to write about the amazing journey she has every day. The efforts made by VHI in the area certainly do not go unnoticed. With each visit Gretchen makes to the homes in the villages she is greeted with great enthusiasm and warmth.