Voice of America
11 Dec 2019, 03:35 GMT+10
LAMU COUNTY, KENYA - In Kenya's remote island communities near the border with Somalia, the threat from al-Shabab militants has scared away most medical personnel. But one group of volunteers - the Safari Doctors - is braving the danger to provide much-needed health care to the area's most vulnerable in Lamu County.
The care arrives in a classic wooden ship flying the Safari Doctors logo on its sail.
The people here have always had less access to medicine than in urban areas, but when al-Shabab terrorists threatened the region starting in 2011, the few clinics there were abandoned.
Lamu-born Umra Omar, the founder of Safari Doctors, left her career in the U.S. in 2015 to help the women and children left behind.
"For me because it was home and because I was a new mother myself," Omar said. "Like seeing other mothers and seeing the need that was there, it just became a natural thing for Safari Doctors to take on from there."
The Safari Doctors visit 12 islands each month, bringing health care to a population of 20,000 people.
Mpunga Sufuria came with her baby for a check-up.
Sufuria said that normally when her child is sick, she would have to go to another island. But getting the medicines from where she is, is better.
While al-Shabab militants are a threat, locals say the remoteness of the islands also provides some protection. Aisha Mariadi just received medicines against diarrhea for her sick baby.
She says that the danger comes when on the roads. There she is scared, but not in the village.
Al-Shabab claimed responsibility for attacks in Lamu County in 2014 that left nearly 100 people dead and dealt a blow to Kenya's coastal tourism.
Founded just a year later, the Safari Doctors say they are aware of the risk, but have yet to face any intimidation, said volunteer Amina Mohamed.
"I started in 2017 and ever since I came for all the clinics there has never been any threat whatsoever."
A bigger threat to locals than terrorism is the lack of sanitation and clean water, said Harrison Kalu, who is a nurse.
"So this water is not treated, one thing," Kalu said. "So during the rainy season, all the dirt is accumulated and put in the diambias [buckets] and people collect the same water for drinking."
The Safari Doctors are funded through grants and donations, but the Lamu County government also gives them vaccines and reproductive health care products.
The group hopes to merge with the local government by 2022 to formalize its role as the mother ship for bringing health care services to Kenya's remote islands.
Get a daily dose of Florida Statesman news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Florida Statesman.
More InformationMADRID, Spain: Liverpool footballer Diogo Jota and his younger brother, André Silva, have died in a car accident in Spain. Spanish...
LONDON, U.K.: An unrelenting heatwave sweeping across Europe has pushed early summer temperatures to historic highs, triggering deadly...
President Donald Trump's plans to build a space-based Golden Dome missile defense shield have drawn immediate criticism from China,...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: Paramount has agreed to pay US$16 million to settle a lawsuit brought by U.S. President Donald Trump over...
LONDON, U.K.: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer won a vote in Parliament this week to move ahead with changes to the country's welfare...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: President Donald Trump will meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Monday. President...
FRANKLIN, Tennessee: Hundreds of thousands of Nissan and Infiniti vehicles are being recalled across the United States due to a potential...
REDMOND, Washington: Microsoft is the latest tech giant to announce significant job cuts, as the financial strain of building next-generation...
LONDON UK - U.S. stock markets were closed on Friday for Independence Day. Global Forex Markets Wrap Up Friday with Greeback Comeback...
SANTA CLARA, California: Nvidia came within a whisker of making financial history on July 3, briefly surpassing Apple's all-time market...
SACRAMENTO, California: California's multibillion-dollar farms are facing a growing crisis—not from drought or pests, but from a sudden...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: President Donald Trump says the United States could soon reach a trade deal with India. He believes this deal would...