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Transcript/ScriptUSAGM SHARE ((THIS IS THE CORRECTED VERSION))
((SLUG: COVID-KENYA ANNIVERSARY (TV) ((CORRECTED))
HEADLINE: Aid Groups Help to Contain Coronavirus in Kibera Slum
TEASER: Health workers build on relationships forged over 20 years in the community
PUBLISHED: 3/30/2022 at 10am
BYLINE: Victoria Amunga
DATELINE: NAIROBI
VIDEOGRAPHER: Amos Wangwa
VIDEO EDITOR:
SCRIPT EDITORS: DLJ, Sharon Shahid
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV X RADIO __
TRT: 2:17
VID APPROVED BY: Holly Franko, VIDEO CORRECTION APPROVE BY MAS
TYPE: TVPKG
EDITOR NOTES: There is an accompanying radio piece.))
((EDS: This corrects the name of the non-profit group in the narration and a chyron to CFK Africa.))
((INTRO))
[[The outbreak of the coronavirus two years ago sparked fears it could quickly spread in Kibera, Africa's largest urban slum, located in Kenya's capital, Nairobi. But local aid groups rose to the challenge, helping to not only contain the virus but also to train health care workers and improve hygiene practices. Victoria Amunga reports from Nairobi.]]
((NARRATOR))
Dense population, unhygienic conditions and lack of a safe water supply made Kenya's Kibera slum an ideal breeding ground for the coronavirus when COVID-19 hit Kenya in March 2020.
((NARRATOR))
Fredrick Otieno, a health care worker in this vulnerable community, says he faced direct exposure to a virus, which at the time, scientists knew almost nothing about.
((Fredrick Otieno, Health Care Worker) English 15 secs))
''It was something new that we have never experienced. There were a lot of stories about many deaths that were happening in some other countries, so when I was placed at the COVID center, I was very careful with those patients.”
((NARRATOR))
It's a challenge CFK Africa, an aid group in the slum, directly took on. Authorities at the aid group, which is named after a private donor, say they built on 20 years of working in Kibera to educate residents and community health workers about keeping safe.
((Eddah Ogogo, CFK Africa Health Care Coordinator)) (( English 24 secs))
"When COVID-19 came in 2020, everyone was scared, and people kept wondering, ‘What will this be when it reaches Africa? How will it be?’ So, we took that opportunity to ensure we educated people we have served over the years because they have trust in us. And developing that trust over the years then made them take the information we give them not with a pinch of salt but very, very keenly. And that is why when we provide information, they listen."
((NARRATOR))
To give slum dwellers access to vaccines, CFK partnered with the Kenyan Ministry of Health and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to distribute coronavirus vaccine to clinics in Kibera. More than 4,000 residents have received jabs at CFK’s three clinics.
((Lilian Omondi, Kibera Resident) Swahili 16 secs))
"I decided to come here because first, I live nearby - it’s a community health center. Then, their services are good. If you go to other hospitals you may fail to get the medicine, but each time I come here, I get the medication I need.”
((NARRATOR))
Kibera is home to an estimated 250,000 people, according to national data. Community aid groups such as Carolina for Kibera hope not only to reach more residents with information on staying safe during the pandemic, but also to vaccinate more of them in the future.
((Victoria Amunga for VOA News, Nairobi))
NewsML Media TopicsHuman Interest, Health
NetworkVOA
Embargo DateMarch 30, 2022 12:20 EDT
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
