WiRED CHE Center Flourishes in Kenya
BY ALLISON KOZICHAROW, EDITED BY BERNICE BORN
iRED International opened its Community Health Education (CHE) Center in Kisumu, western Kenya, 12 years ago. Today the facility functions as the recently dedicated Faye F. and Sheldon S. Cohen Center. To date the CHE programs have provided thousands of people with the knowledge to guide their own health care.
Using a projector, now becoming standard equipment in all WiRED CHE facilities, the CHE staff recently showcased modules from the WiRED e-library to students from medical schools such as the Lake Institute of Tropical Medicine and the Kenya Medical Training Institute. In all, 80 students attended the session and represented 10 counties in Kenya.
As a result of the presentation, Lillian Dajoh, the CHE coordinator in Kisumu, reported that people are flocking to the facility to attend community outreach seminars. She said, “This was our biggest achievement ever with the medical institutions. [The program] is now bearing good fruit.”
Ms. Dajoh received a heartwarming letter from a young woman who several years ago saw her first computer at the CHE Center. She became a community health worker and then went on to complete WiRED’s Certificate Program (Gold level). After passing tests on module topics including HIV/AIDS, asthma, cancer, child development and maternal health care, she said, “These modules are very important for my work as a community health worker. … This certificate has made my work easier in the community. … I am now aware of details about many diseases unfamiliar to me. God bless WiRED International.”