How Village HopeCore’s School Health Program is Transforming School Health in Rural Kenya
Improved health for children implies safer and healthier lives for a better community. Village HopeCore mobile clinics are unique in that they combine treatment services, education, and counseling to deliver a comprehensive school health program. Also, prevention services such as deworming are provided in these clinics. This has ensured that we address the students' most immediate concerns through treatment and counseling, even as we ensure sustainability through education.
Teachers Training
As the government announced the phased reopening of schools, Village HopeCore collaborated with the Ministry of Education to offer COVID-19 safety protocols in schools to all teachers in Maara sub-county. The training content was based on the recommended module by the Ministry of Education for school staff. The training lasted for 11 days and saw us train 1602 school teachers from 172 primary and secondary schools in the sub-county. The topics covered included what COVID-19 is, its signs, symptoms, transmission, prevention, what to do when there is a suspected case in school, and psychosocial support amid the pandemic for both learners and teachers.
Schools were fully reopened in January this year; the ministry of education allowed Village HopeCore to resume the school mobile clinics with the condition that COVID-19 protocols are adhered to.
WASH
Safe drinking water and hygiene are essential to reducing the burden of most preventable diseases among students. Regular soap distribution to schools complements health education on hygiene and increases students' frequency of washing their hands. Proper and frequent hand washing leads to a significant reduction of diarrheal-related conditions among school children, enabling parents to save money spent in the hospital.
A pupil draws clean water for drinking
Last term the WASH team distributed 3560 litres of handwashing soap to 178 partner schools. Additionally, the schools received 522 bottles of water guard for treating drinking.
Menstrual Hygiene Management
The aim is to provide all vulnerable school girls with sanitary towels to minimize absenteeism and put them at par with their male counterparts. It is estimated that girls from low-income families miss 20% of school days each year due to a lack of sanitary products. It entails empowering girls through education on menstruation, provision of menstrual hygiene products, and advocacy of friendly sanitation facilities that ensure dignity and privacy to girls as they change pads. This year the school health teams educated 2180 girls on Menstrual Hygiene Management, 2,270 annual sanitary kits (27,240 monthly packets) were issued to the needy girls identified by the teacher health champions.
Girls display their annual sanitary kits donated by Village HopeCore
Health Clubs
Student-led health clubs promote the well-being of the students and teachers in schools. Health clubs make the students critical players in transforming their environment and transforming the school to encourage healthy practices. Educating students/children on various health topics enables them to develop healthy behavior, allowing them to grow into responsible adults. HopeCore adopted the campaign approach in training Health Club members to train students on a specific topic each term. With the closure of learning institutions and lockdowns imposed by governments to combat the spread of COVID-19, there has been a spike in gender-based violence globally. In Kenya, violence has become a daily reality for women and girls, 45% of women and girls aged 15-49 have experienced physical violence, while 14% have experienced sexually-based violence. A total of 1902 health club members were trained on SGBV.
HopeCore staff training health club members
Mass Deworming in Schools
Worm infection is a condition that threatens children's health and limits their access to education. Worms can cause anemia and malnutrition, impairing children's mental and physical development. In February 2021, HopeCore started a mass deworming campaign targeting students in schools within Mwimbi and Muthambi sub-counties. We educate the students on worms: how worms get into our bodies, health effects, and how to prevent themselves from worms. 12,250 children have been dewormed.
Vision Screening
Vision screening is a brief exam that looks for potential vision problems and eye disorders. HopeCore undertook an ambitious vision acuity screen program for school children in Mwimbi and Muthambi sub-counties. The goal is to ensure that all the 45,000 + school-going children in the partner schools get screened for early detection of eye problems that might interfere with their studies and functionality. This year 9230 students were educated on vision/eye care, and 10,397 students got screened for visual acuity.
HopeCore staff conducting vision acuity test
