As malaria continues to hit the Kenyan people, the Christian missionaries are involved in prevention measures against this dreadful disease.
In a recent interview, Fr Joe Healey said the Maryknoll missionaries are currently giving highly effective malaria nets to poor families in Kitale, Western Kenya, Kibera slums in Nairobi and Mombasa in the Coast Province.
Recommended by medical professionals, Fr. Healey said of the nets, “Ours is in the availability of the badly sort treated Malaria nets to the poor families,” he stressed during the interview.”
The Catholic priest who has been in the pastoral fields for decades said, “On April 25 this year we felt proud to enjoin with Kenya, Africa and the entire world in marking the World Malaria, which is marked on 25th of May every year.””
In a report on the Maryknoll Aids Orphans Programme in Mombasa, the coordinator, Coralis Salvador, a Maryknoll Lay Missioner says “the project cares for both children and pregnant mothers in Kenya’s coastal region and Momabasa in particular.”
She adds that in the last two years, they have distributed over 1000 treated Malaria nets at a cost of more than Ksh.400, 000.
In the last 10 years, we have sent over 1657 orphans to school-primary, secondary and vocational courses, stressing that, “We focus our work mainly on pregnant mothers, infants and children through the distributions of treated nets.” she says the project began in 1999.
On both Kibera and Kitale programs, the situation is quite similar, high need for the treated malaria nets by the poor families, while what we manage to do is never enough, explains Fr Healey.
“My experience here at Kibera is the need for the treated Malaria nets, as an effective recommendable measures against Malaria has always surpassed the nets’ in-flow”, remarked Veronica Mbithe, a social worker at Christ the King Parish-Catholic, where the Malaria project is coordinated.
