Exploring Maternal Health and Community Resilience in Rural Kenya

A couple times a week, I went on field visits to the community health centers and toured their facilities, including the maternal care units, with delivery rooms, antenatal care wards, and postnatal care wards. These visits gave me valuable insight into the structure and resources supporting maternal and child health in the community. I also met with community health workers and health promoters to learn about the care groups they lead. These groups play a critical role in promoting the health of birthing women by conducting home visits, assessing family health, and teaching best practices for health and hygiene using the curricula developed by the KIKOP team. The Nyagoto Community Birthing Center was one of the locations we visited frequently, engaging closely with neighborhood women and CHVs.

During our first visit to the Matongo Health Center, we were warmly welcomed by community health volunteers and promoters who greeted us with singing and dancing, giving us a delightful opportunity to practice our Ekegusii by introducing ourselves. At the health facility, I was introduced to pregnant women, postpartum women and thier families waiting to see nurses and volunteers. A grandmother introduced us to her healthy newborn granddaughter as they waited for vaccinations. She was so proud of how hard everyone in the community was working to keep the newborns and children healthy!

Some of the birthing facilities we visited provided separate birthing rooms for women who preferred not to give birth while lying on a bed. All of the antenatal and postnatal care wards in the health facilities we visited were thoughtfully equipped with beds and privacy curtains. We gained detailed knowledge about the equipment and medicine available to ensure healthy deliveries. Additionally, a handbook created by the Ministry of Health provided mothers and families with readily accessible health information, clearly illustrated with pictures and easy-to-understand text. Doctor’s office walls were adorned with vital health information and data from the Ministry of Health, emphasizing immunization rates, breastfeeding practices, and illness prevention.

My days often involved visiting local schools alongside KIKOP staff, Ministry of Health officers, and nurses from the AIDS Health Foundation (AHF). Walking into classrooms filled with curious, eager students, we facilitated lessons on mental health, menstrual hygiene, reproductive health, and HIV/AIDS prevention.

Many of the schools we visited had signs painted on their buildings promoting good public health practices. As we walked through each classroom, I gained insights into their daily lessons from the notes written on the chalkboards. Students sat closely together on wooden benches lined neatly in rows. In one school, a library was tucked into a small room at the back, stocked with donated storybooks and workbooks, which children could borrow as needed. One of my favorite memories was being led around a school by a cheerful six-year-old student who proudly held my hand, eager to show me her classroom.

At lunchtime, some students went home, while others brought beans from home, which the school cook collected and prepared into a communal meal for all. The students all lined up with plates and enjoyed their lunch in the courtyard. After lunch, they all washed their hands and plates before going back to class. We were invited to eat with them-the food was delicious! Throughout these visits, public health officers, staff from AHF, and the KIKOP team consistently encouraged us interns to take initiative and engage actively with students by leading discussions and asking questions. In one fourth grade classroom, I led a lesson on how to put on a menstrual pad. The room was filled with quiet giggles and whispering from students excited about having guests in their classroom.  Additionally, several Saturdays each month, we hosted events at the KIKOP office where community members gathered to learn about sexual and reproductive health. At these meetings, staff members provided menstrual hygiene products, further extending support to the community.