Our Programs
SAIDIA takes pride in being a community-driven organisation. One of our guiding principles is to work in consensus with the communities we serve. We aim to provide what communities want rather than what we think they need. All programs are implemented in close cooperation with the groups involved through consultation with grassroots committees and with the help of community volunteers.
Our offices are situated in Maralal, the administrative centre for Samburu District, so that we can be based within our constituency and be close to field sites. We employ about 20 staff in the field. Nearly all these posts are filled by candidates from Samburu District.
SAIDIA is the largest non-government health provider in the district. We deliver preventive and curative healthcare to 50,000 people from our health centre, a dispensary and two mobile health units that reach some 25 remote communities. The health centre at Lesirikan is equipped with a laboratory to diagnosis malaria and other illnesses on the spot.
The most common complaints that we treat are upper respiratory tract infections, malaria, eye infections, skin complaints, sexually transmitted infections and diarrhoea. For the most part, these problems can be prevented through better living practices. It is for this reason that the Integrated Reproductive Health Care Program emphasises preventive healthcare through educational seminars and workshops.
The program's family planning services assist mothers from the antenatal phase through infancy. Women usually give birth in their homesteads, a long way from medical facilities and in unhygienic circumstances. We train traditional birth attendants to deliver babies at home. More than once their presence has saved the lives of both mother and baby.
Measles and polio kill and cripple if left unattended. We immunise thousands of children against these and other childhood diseases through our mobile units. The highest immunisation rates in the district are in Ndoto and Ngilai, the locations where SAIDIA's two clinics are situated. The District Public Health Nurse has commended SAIDIA for its exceptional immunisation coverage.
The AIDS pandemic has devastated many communities in Kenya. Fortunately, this is not the case in Samburu District. It is one of our primary objectives to keep the transmission of HIV in check. We have trained more than 60 adolescent peer educators to counsel others of their age who are both in and out of school. The issues that are discussed include relationships, drug use, how to avoid sexually transmitted disease including HIV&AIDS and the dangers of female circumcision.
SAIDIA is mindful of the importance of giving children a headstart in life. The Early Childhood Development Program provides day-care centres for children under five. In a break from pastoralist tradition, children are allowed the time and space to play for several hours a day. Each day is concluded with a nutritious meal followed by songs, dance and storytelling supervised by some of the grannies. This not only stimulates the children's creative abilities but ensures that Samburu culture is passed down through the generations.
The project has a second objective - to introduce parents to good healthcare, nutrition and child-rearing practices. Children who attend our day-care centres are more lively, better nourished and more confident than other children their age. They play and socialise easily and tend to adjust to the school-learning process better than children who have not attended the centres.
Preschool is only the beginning of the SAIDIA journey. The surest way to safeguard community development while honouring cultural integrity is through educating each successive generation. Yet as recently as a couple of decades ago there were virtually no Samburu university graduates and proportionately few secondary-school leavers. In Kenya only primary school is free. However, the low enrolment rate for higher education was only partially due to financial constraints. Many parents were not aware of the benefits of sending their children to school.
The Education Fund has sponsored more than 100 students through secondary and tertiary education. Most have returned to Samburu to contribute to their communities as teachers, nurses, civil servants and wildlife managers.
We are focusing on improving the male-female enrolment ratio, which is 5:1. SAIDIA also does career counselling so that students can enter the job market on graduation. Our students are from poor families who cannot afford the school fees.
SAIDIA is always seeking sponsors for students, particularly for girls.
Tuberculosis, often linked to AIDS, has become a serious problem in Samburu District. A two-year pilot project, the Community-Based Management of HIV & AIDS and Tuberculosis Program, assesses how to improve the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of this very contagious disease through education and awareness. We have trained 50 community-based workers to identify potential cases, to support patients and their families in adhering to the strict TB treatment regimen and to educate the community about HIV&AIDS and TB. They educated thousands of people about the dangers of TB and how to avoid being infected. SAIDIA is also working with the Ministry of Health to refurbish the housing for TB patients at the Maralal District Hospital.
Age groups and their rite of passage are integral to Samburu society. Circumcision is the most important ceremony for both boys and girls but brings with it health risks and, particularly for the girls, psychological trauma. SAIDIA continues to Campaign Against Female Genital Mutilation through workshops and the introduction of the concept of an alternative rite of passage to mark entry into womanhood.
Samburu boys are circumcised in groups at specific times. Traditionally, the circumciser has used the same knife on all the boys without the benefit of sterilisation. Sharing circumcision knives is a fast track for the transmission of HIV. The One Knife One Boy Campaign educates communities to this danger and trains circumcisers in safe and hygienic circumcision practices.
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