Winifred, a Health Worker On Call

February 13, 2017She was known simply asOmusirishi—“the one who treats”—in my village. She was known simply asOmusirishi—“the one who treats”—in my village.This was Winifred, the village nurse whose status was akin to that of a chief. She knew every corner of the village and was revered by everyone there and in neighboring villages. You would rarely find her in her home because most of her time was spent moving from house to house, attending to people with ailments ranging from malaria to cholera to burns to snake bites.My mother was not about to risk losing her youngest daughter.One day when I was about ten, my younger sister, Lydia, fell very ill in the middle of the night. Kenya ’s Kakamega region, where I grew up, receives very heavy downpours during the long rainy season. On this particular night, it had rained heavily, and as 90% of Kenyans were without electricity in those days, it was very dark and scary.My mother was not about to risk losing her youngest daughter and, this being before the era of mobile phones, there was only one way to get Winifred to come.In my sleep, I heard my mother shout my name and that of my elder sister, Sarah. She ordered me to run and fetchOmusirishifrom her home about two kilometers away while Sarah boiled water. (In those days it was common for local health workers to disinfect needles using boiling water, as most local health workers had just a couple of needles to use on several patients.)I thought of losing my belov...

Source: IntraHealth International - February 13, 2017 Category: Global & Universal Authors: mnathe Source Type: news