PFC and MW enable better lives in Marurui, Kenya slums

By technologists

From Alan Wessler, Mobility Worldwide Columbia:
“After lunch, we went to the Marurui Slum, home to roughly 25,000 – 30,000 people. One of the amazing things going on here is the amount of commerce taking place in the slum in small booths/shops. Some residents are living in 1-2 room shanties with dirt floors, perhaps one light bulb, a couch and/or bed. Other residents have a little more. Dirt pathways with open drainage of sewage running down the middle of the passageway can also be seen.

“PFC established a medical clinic here with a treatment area for babies, a pharmacy, a patient exam room, a small doctor’s office area, and a pharmacy. With one doctor on staff, they hold clinic hours 5 days a week, and also make house calls and follow-up visits in the slum. The main medical issues in this community are chronic conditions, like diabetes and hypertension.
…

“The Marurui slums were a stark reminder that there are poor and destitute people in the world. (For the most part, we are so insulated from this environment in the U.S.) Still, we are reminded that there is life in this community, that commerce is taking place with some very entrepreneurial people, that every life is valuable, and that disability is not inability. There may be despair, and hopelessness for many, but with the Kenyan government’s mandate for education for all kids through high school, people are finding a way to pay for their kids’ education, helping them to have a better life. PFC’s initiatives assist in those efforts with their Mobility Worldwide partnership offering Mobility Carts to the disabled, plus providing access to computer, sewing, and other skills, providing for access to better health and medical care, and providing access to employment opportunities. It was a most interesting day!

Alan Wessler”
Country: Kenya
Partner: Partners for Care