Donation of canopies and helicopter bags aiding community volunteers to deliver health services
Patrick Nkhowani is a classified daily employee (volunteer) at Mtilizi Rural Health Centre within the catchment of World Vision's Nyimba Area Development Programme. He received training in caregiving from World Vision and has been supporting the health facility with outreach initiatives such as child health weeks, immunisation exercises, and family planning classes.
Patrick says conducting outreach programmes had been a challenge for him and other volunteers in the past, because most of the time, the activities would have to be conducted outdoors. “Carrying out outreach programmes was sometimes challenging because in most cases we used to work in open areas. The weather affected our progress especially when it was very hot or when the rains started”, he says.
To support outreach activities, World Vision, through Gifts-In-Kind, supported Mtilizi Rural Health Centre with canopies (tents) that have been used to facilitate health activities in communities.
The health facility has also been supported with helicopter bags that have made it easy for staff to carry medicines and other medical items from the clinic to different communities.
“I am thankful to World Vision for the donation of the tents because I no longer have to worry about securing shelter under the tree for me to do my work”, says Patrick. “We also received medical bags that we use to carry the necessary items when conducting our visits.”
He adds, “In the past, we used boxes to collect medicines from our district stores, and if not careful or when it is raining, the boxes used to get torn and items would get soaked. But with the helicopter bags we received from World Vision, we haven’t faced any challenges."
