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We are glad that following the reopening of The Maa Trust (TMT) and relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions, we have now resumed the Integrated Community Healthcare Project (ICHP). ICHP was launched by The Maa Trust in October 2019 to address Population, Health, and Environment issues across the Maasai Mara Ecosystem.
The project fully resumed in September with 8 medical camps in different villages in Maasai Mara, in addition to the ongoing door-to-door work undertaken by Community Health Volunteers (CHVs) and backpack services in remote communities. September, this project reached a total of 614 community members with access to free, quality healthcare.
“This medical camp has been great for me and my community. We are very grateful to you for bringing medical care to our community at no cost. You have surely saved us money, time and the distance we would have covered to go all the way to Talek Health Centre.” Lucy Kamakia.
Services provided during the medical camps included: basic curative, HIV/AIDS testing, cancer screening, pediatric check-ups, and family planning. The project has seen great teamwork between the communities, Ministry of Health (MoH), Community Health Partners (CHPs), Community Health Volunteers (CHVs), and The Maa Trust team.
“We are glad to work with The Maa Trust in this outreach, the attendance was good and most of the community members were all requesting us to come more often. We are glad that we were provided with good medicine and equipment to work with. Thank you on behalf of the Nkoilale Health Centre” Joel Siololo, Nursing Officer, Nkoilale Health Centre.
Medical camp attendance is a testament to how much the community needs this project. The need for this ICHP project was identified at the grassroots through a Mara Health Needs Assessment funded by TMT and undertaken by Amref, and the Population and Settlement research commissioned by Maasai Mara Wildlife Conservancies Association (MMWCA) and undertaken by TMT.
“The day was splendid, well organized, and coordinated. As Nkoilale Health Centre fraternity we are grateful and urge The Maa Trust and their partners in The Integrated Community Healthcare Project to add more outreaches to the community. We will be there to support in any way we can.” Joseph Oshipiae, Nursing Officer, Nkoilale Health Centre.
This project falls within The Maa Trust’s Health and water department and it is an expansion of the trust's preventative healthcare work. The project focuses on increasing accessibility, uptake, and quality of healthcare services for communities in the Maasai Mara and actively create awareness and access to Sexual Reproductive Health (SRH) services.
One anonymous lady who received family planning services at a medical camp in September said:
“I came here for a three-year family planning method after agreeing with my husband. We have one child who is one-year-old and we would like to space our children with at least four or five-year gap. I have been using the three months’ family planning method but now we are moving to a remote area where we will not be able to access a health facility as often, so we have decided to change to the three-year plan. Thank you for making family planning available at no cost.”
Each month, The Maa Trust will coordinate at least four medical camps in four different villages that are not near health centres or hospitals.
We are grateful to our partners in this project who are making this important work possible: África Digna, CHASE Africa, Maasai Mara Wildlife Conservancies Association, Norad, Hemingways collection (Olseki), Remembering Lions, Community Health Partners, and the Ministry of Health, Kenya.