We are proud to support our hospice partners who have been working hard to train Community Health Volunteers to ensure that many more people, even those in remote locations, are able to access quality palliative care.
Meru Hospice
Since March Meru Hospice has trained 5 hospice volunteers and 46 youth volunteers. Volunteers provide important support for awareness raising activities and in assisting with caring for patients during hospice day-care. The additional support from volunteers has enabled Meru hospice to support almost 800 patients over the past 6 months.
“It must be very tough to be a hospice nurse, but they are special people…like angels,”
Peter, a hospice volunteer, recalls how the nurses and staff made sure his mother was comfortable, that she had all the medications she needed, and that she didn’t suffer in her final days.
“I highly recommend Meru Hospice because of how well they treated my mother, my family and I. If it hadn’t been for the Hospice, I don’t know what I would have done.”
Siaya Roselyne Hospice
With our support, Siaya Roselyne Hospice in western Kenya has successfully trained 90 Community Health Volunteers since July, equipping them with the knowledge to begin caring for people in need of palliative care in their communities. Three training sessions have been conducted to date. Community health volunteers were trained in topics such as cancer awareness, to increase their knowledge and enable them to share that knowledge with their communities. It also provided a basic training in palliative care and the importance of providing appropriate care to people with terminal illness. The team plan to follow up the training by visiting the trained community health volunteers at work in their communities to ensure that the knowledge is being put to use and palliative care is applied to patients who are in need of it.
After the training some of the participants voiced their appreciation;
“I am glad I was involved in the training. I will use the knowledge given to me by the Siaya Hospice team to take care of the terminally ill patients who are in need of palliative care in my area”, Jacob Otieno, CHV Rwambwa Unit.
“I used to hear people talking about palliative care but I was not aware of what it meant. I have several patients in my community who are bedridden and need palliative care and now I am going to attend to them because I have enough knowledge thanks to the Siaya Hospice team”, Beatrice Anyango, CHV Rwambwa Unit.
Malindi Hospital Palliative Care Unit
Over the past year Malindi Hospital PC Unit has trained 76 Community Health Volunteers. Staff report that the project has improved the awareness and understanding of palliative care with both health workers and volunteers. A volunteer commented;
“This training has greatly strengthened me. Now I have the courage to attend to patients and their family members with life threatening conditions such as cancer without feeling inadequate or fearful.”
Volunteers were greatly motivated by the course and one commented;
“I wish to participate in longer and more detailed training.”
Ongata Ngong Palliative Community Care
The palliative care team from Ongata Ngong Palliative Community Care worked hard during October’s cancer awareness week to educate the public about cancer and palliative care. Visiting Ngarusha village (left) and Inyonyori village Maasailand (right), they informed villagers on the signs of common cancers and where to seek help.
