We got fantastic news today from Eldoret: The peer educators’ trainings in Langas, one of the largest slums in Kenya,  have started!

Solasa and we from the Making More Health team (www.makingmorehealth.com) have started to work together. What has happened so far?

Fifteen peer educators (representing the 3 sub-counties of Uasin Gishu County) have met with our local partner SOLASA E.C.D.E. . They discussed how ideally a MMH health awareness program should look to create more health in the slums. The first step in this program is to understand and learn much more about the health needs, how they connect to each other and about the wants of the people living day by day in these surroundings. This information will help to put together a health awareness trainig that will hopefully create a real benefit for the inhabitants. It’s about creating a training “with”them, not “for” them.

“We learned from each other about expectations, needs and wants and could also introduce what MMH partners are doing”, describes Elizabeth Nyambura (Director of this Solwodi/Solasa – MMH co-creation project on the local site).

During this event also some first information on how to prevent communicable and non communicable diseases such as cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, flu and others were given. The interest was very high to learn much more. The participants asked many questions.

The next step will be to launch a Kick out diabetes awareness campaign and connect it to sports. Most of the health peers are playing soccer.

With our initiative Making More Health and together with our local NGO partners and stakeholders we aim to connect efforts – also AMPATH – to help to make a health awareness programme with trainings for the communities happen that includes also topics such as self confidence and other mental health issues!