World Immunization Week

 For "World Immunization Week" Tabibu Africa, Inc solutes all persons and organizations on the ground, in the office, and those behind the scenes who are doing their part to bring immunizations to every child world wide. The World thanks you!

Photo Courtesy of WHO

According to WHO (The World Health Organization) progress towards global vaccination targets for 2015 is far off-track with 1 in 5 children still missing out on routine life-saving immunizations that could avert 1.5 million deaths each year from preventable diseases. 

 An estimated 21.8 million infants worldwide are still not being reached by routine immunization services. Close to 70% of these children live in ten countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Viet Nam and South Africa.

In 2013 nearly 22 million infants world wide missed out on the required three doses of diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis-containing vaccines (DTP3), many of them living in the world’s poorest countries. The fatality rate for a person who contracts diphtheria and is given proper treatment is 10%, for infants it's 20%. If a person contracts diphtheria and it is not treated, which is the case for most individuals in developing countries, the fatality rate is greater than 50%. 
 

Worldwide, it is estimated that there are 16 million pertussis cases and about 195,000 pertussis deaths in children per year. Despite generally high coverage with childhood pertussis vaccines, pertussis is one of the leading causes of vaccine-preventable deaths worldwide. Most deaths occur in young infants who are either unvaccinated or incompletely vaccinated.

Many countries worldwide have experienced large measles outbreaks in the past year, threatening efforts to achieve the GVAP (Global Vaccine Action Plan) target of eliminating measles in 3 WHO Regions by end-2015.  As many as one out of every 20 children with measles gets pneumonia, the most common cause of death from measles in young children. About one child out of every 1,000 who get measles will develop encephalitis (swelling of the brain) that can lead to convulsions and can leave the child deaf or with intellectual disability. For every 1,000 children who get measles, one or two will die from it.

A global collaborative drive for immunization, begun in the mid-1970s with the establishment of the "Expanded Program on Immunization" in all countries . This achieved dramatic results, raising vaccination levels from as low as 5% to more than 80% in many countries by 2013. WHO estimates that today immunizations prevent between 2 and 3 million deaths annually and protect many more people from illness and disability.

 

Photo courtesy of vaccineswork.org

Although progress has stalled in recent years, this early success demonstrates the potential of vaccines, which are increasingly being extended from children to adolescents and adults. The result is providing protection against diseases such as influenza, meningitis and cervical and liver cancers.

The GVAP recommends three key steps for closing the immunization gap:

• integrating immunization with other health services, such as postnatal care for mothers and babies;
• strengthening health systems so that vaccines continue to be given even in times of crisis; and
• ensuring that everyone can access vaccines and afford to pay for them.

Earlier this year, donor countries and institutions pledged to meet the funding needs of the Vaccine Alliance that brings together public and private sectors to create equal access to new and underused vaccines for children living in the world’s poorest countries

For "World Immunization Week" Tabibu Africa, Inc solutes all persons and organizations on the ground, in the office, and those behind the scenes who are doing their part to bring immunizations to every child world wide. The World thanks you! 

Photo courtesy of Gavi

 

What a Wonderful World-Earth Day.

I see trees of green, red roses, too.  I see them bloom for me and your and I think to myself what a wonderful world it is—April 22, 2015 Earth Day, as we observe this important day we must think about the trials facing Africa.  Africa is literally an enormous piece of the picture—one-fifth of the planet—that cannot be disregarded. Although the challenges are great, so is the prospective.

v  The continent of Africa represents 20 percent of the Earth’s land mass.

v  Two-thirds of Africa is arid or semi-arid, and 300 of the 800 million people in Sub Saharan Africa live in a water-scarce environment.

v  During the decade ending in 2010, Africa had the second highest rate of deforestation of any region in the world.

v  One-third of the known species threatened with extinction is found in Sub Saharan Africa.

v  Some 520 million Africans rely on agriculture for their livelihoods, most of them subsistence farmers.

When we think about Earth Day, many considerations should be addresses, Africa looms large, but its answers must start small.

Planting a living fence of  Jujube trees around a plot of eroded farmland, provides  a garden within protection from grazing animals and dry winds, as well as produces hundreds of pounds of fruit to eat and sell.

Many groups in Kenya have developed sustainable solutions for preserving endangered lions through community education and partnership. One being local men and women—many raised to be lion hunters—are educated, trained, and employed as lion monitors. They are part of a network of community informants who observe lion populations in order to reduce human-lion conflict. In just one year, they have successfully reduced human-lion conflict by 50 percent.

Throughout Africa, agriculture is key to economic growth.  Most farms are small plots of land, and most farmers are women who face obstacles including a lack of technology, increasingly variable rains, and crop-destroying diseases. But these women farmers are more adept at using mirco-loans to finance small agricultural businesses. Home and school vertical vegetable gardens, which supply dietary nutrients that are not available from staple crops, are increasing in number. These gardens offer diverse agricultural landscapes that incorporate ecosystems that preserve watersheds and wild biodiversity.

 

 

 

 

A Good Life

There are so many characterizations of "a good life"

     Financial stability—

Shall we squander and waste? Or give freely to those in need?

From dust we came and dust we will return—checking account are of no value after life.

     Traveling the world—

 Shall we lounge and linger? Or generously give our time to help our fellow man? After all, we are one family. 

     Material possessions—

Shall we have closets of clothes and belongings we rarely use? Or live a simple life.  A simple life of obedience can lead to more happiness than one can ever imagine, and the more you bless others, your blessings will in turn multiply by unimaginable proportions!

 

It is often said that the poorest people financially are often the happiest –and yet the most generous.  Generosity brought to a new meaning—a true meaning.

Everyone has their own thoughts about a good life, what is yours?

 

 

Happy Birthday, James!

We would like to take this time to congratulate Tabibu Africa's Secretary and co-founder, Corrie Wima Naishipai and her wonderful family, on the newest addition to their clan. 
We welcome James with loving arms and hearts!

Mungu akubariki (may God bless you)

   From little date seeds, great things are born. ~Namibian Proverb

 

"It had also been a childhood dream to travel to Africa, and the journey turned out to be much more rewarding than imagined. I found a place where my heart and soul had yearned to be, and they smiled. I may or may not have made a difference in a few lives, but it definitely changed mine. 

I had a difficult time adjusting at first, there was so much need and only so much we could do. I found myself frustrated and angry. Then the patients would walk into the clinic and smile with gratitude with whatever we gave them; vitamins, brufen, cream....but most important Love and a listening ear. Humanity at its purest..all Humans need Love and a listening ear. 

My time in Kenya rejuvenated my soul, while just beginning to slake my hearts desire of bringing help desired in "My Calcutta". While I am counting the days to return to my heart's home away from home I do hope to have brought back many lessons from the African people, but first and foremost the importance of a loving ear, and a kind mouth."
 ~Corrie Wima Naishipai

What is a Hippo Roller?

What is a Hippo Roller and Why is it so Great?

Every day, millions of women & children in developing countries are forced to carry heavy loads of water for long distances, typically in heavy 20L (44 pounds/20 Kg) containers on their heads or backs. In just one day, 152 million or more hours of their time is consumed for the most basic of human needs — collecting water.

Have you ever had to walk outside to a well to get clean water? Imagine how people feel in Kenya, for instance, who walk a round trip of up to 100 Km (62 miles) just to fetch water? Then also imagine doing this in temperatures up to 40˚C (104˚F) through dangerous areas of drought, wild animals, and human threats all with a giant container on your head or back - just for water.

Good news, there is a solution! Welcome the Hippo Roller. Designed in Africa for Africa the Hippo Water Roller enables women, children and the elderly to collect 5 times more water than a single bucket by simply rolling it along the ground. The savings in time, energy and reduced suffering are immense and the positive social-impact benefits are far reaching.

 An effective and efficient way to carry 90 liters (24 gallons) of water, much more easily and in less time by simply rolling along the ground. It was specifically designed to be maintenance-free and for use in tough rural conditions, with a long lifespan of 5 - 7 years, often much longer. It reduces long-term injuries caused by carrying heavy loads of water and gives women & children more time for education and economic activities.

The Hippo Roller is an appropriate technology widely accepted in many countries by undeveloped communities where there is no reliable water infrastructure. Approximately 44,000 Hippo Water Rollers have been distributed mostly in South Africa and at least 20 other African countries, directly benefiting in excess of 300,000 people (based on a typical household average of 7). To date, more than 7 Billion liters (nearly 2 million gallons) of water have already been ‘rolled’ over a combined distance of 500 Million km (310 Million miles!). Much more can and needs to be done!

Spring 2015 Tabibu Africa, Inc is proud to be taking over several Hippo Rollers for the first time. We will be introducing them to a Masai community in the Rift Valley that have never seen or experienced this marvelous invention. We are only able to do this because of the wonderful and selfless support from a few generous donors like you. Hero's are everywhere! 

Look for our post this summer when we write, share pictures, and stories of what the Hippo Roller did for women and children in one of the villages that Tabibu Africa, Inc serves.

To learn how you can help bring more Hippo Rollers to East Africa please click here. We can only bring these to those who need it the most because of people like you!

For more information about the Hippo Water Roller Project click here: www.hipporoller.org

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There's No Place Like Home

Dorothy, a young girl wearing glittery red shoes once proclaimed, "There's no place like home--there's no place like home."  Tabibu Africa could not agree more.  One's home is a gift, a place of affection, safety and comfort that brings harmony to your soul in just thinking of it.  A home is hard to come by, but well worth the effort to create.  Each Maasai women creates her own haven, an Inkajijik, ( Maasai for house) a small loaf-shaped huts made of mud, sticks, grass and cow dung.  Often the construction of a Inkajijik takes several months and each woman adds her special touch.  Making her house a home for herself and her children. 

Women throughout the world agree, there are two gifts that we all should give our children; one is roots and the other is wings. The only way to do this is by creating  and maintaining a sense of home throughout their development.  Maasai women are masters of both gifts for children.

Lucky Grace

Tabibu Africa works with leaders living and working in community Nkoilale, their help, knowledge and desire to improve the well-being of the Maasai tribe is admiral.  Grace, a teacher is a valuable part of our team. Grace is one of several teachers whose thirst for education cannot be quenched.  This is her story of who she is and why she does what does and how she cares for girls of all ages.  Her story was first published in the Lake Chelan Rotary News.

My name is Grace Namunuak  and this is my story.

My Maa name ‘Namunyak’ means ‘LUCKY’ I consider myself lucky in many ways. I was lucky to have been taken to school while other girls stayed at home looking after the cattle waiting to be married off. I was the only girl from my village going to school amongst many boys. Their insults did not make me change my mind. When I completed my primary school level, my luck was put into testing. A brother to my dad came back from exile and demanded that I should drop out of school to be married to a man whom already had two other wives.

 I had passed very well in national exam and definitely was going to be enrolled in a very good provincial school. He made this demand because my dad had sold their younger daughter in the absence of his elder brother. So I was to be sold to pay what my dad had taken.

I consulted my grandmother who was still alive at the time. She was against the deal and told me not to give in to his demands. My dad was against it too, but he had no option but to repay his brother. I used my grandmother to force my elder dad to let me go to high school with a promise that as soon as I completed high school, I would get married to whomever my father wanted. He agreed, but started negotiations with the man who was to marry me. This man was given what he asked and the man was to wait for four years for me to complete high school. I never showed any signs that I might change my mind and this gave my elder dad confidence that I will not let him down.

 

I did my high school national exam and did it well again. Now it was time to fulfill my promise. My granny was still alive so I went to her for advice. She advised not to allow him force me to the old man. She was becoming old and time wasted would lead me to conceding defeat. The only option left was for me to elope with anyone else to run away from this old man. I did it. I may have taken the wrong decision at that particular moment but later had good results. I went to college after three years. I became the teacher I am today.

My desire to help young girls comes from my story. If I had someone to tell what I was going through, maybe I could not have suffered the way I did. It is so heartbreaking to see young girls being married off at this tender age. Their stories make me cry every time I hear. It brings back the memories that I wouldn’t want to remember. I would like to extend my ‘LUCK’ to them. I would like for them to have something to tell others in the future.

 

7 Billion

There is approximately 7 Billion people on planet Earth. 

Out of those 7 Billion people, 805 million people do not have enough to eat. One out of nine people in the world do not have enough food just for the minimum daily caloric input needed to survive. 98% of the world's undernourished people live in developing countries.

Sub-Sahara Africa holds approximately 214 million malnourished or undernourished people. Undernourishment is the cause for 45% of deaths in children under the age of five. 

3.1 million children each year die from malnourishment. 

8,500 children die every day simply because they do not have food to eat. 

66 million primary school-age children attend classes hungry across the developing world with 23 million in just Africa alone. 

Every 10 seconds a child dies from hunger-related disease

Tabibu Africa, Inc believes that this is simply unacceptable. Through our education, saniation, hygiene, and empowerment programs we aim to help those in these impoverished area's to overcome their poverty and feed their families. With both schools that Tabibu Africa, Inc sponsor's no child will leave school hungry. They also are given 1-2 medical screenings per year along with an excellent education. These children will then go on to make positive change happen within their communities and the cycle of poverty and hunger will decrease with each generation. 

We can speed this process of necessary positive change up with help from you. Because of donors like you we can go into these impoverished villages and spread this movement of change. 

No more children need to go hungry. No more mothers need to choose which child is fed for the day. We can stop this cycle now. 

To be a donor now please click here. 

For more information please check out our website here or email us at: TabibuAfrica@aol.com

Asante Sana

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Nkoilale's Big 5

Nkoilale’s Big 5

There is a village of Maasai in the Rift Valley called Nkoilale. They saw a problem and they came together as a community to solve it. With strong leadership and a common goal they are making huge leaps and bounds for the benefit of their community.

Disease, malnutrition, water contaminated with cholera and Typhoid, lack of health care and lack of quality schools close by were their main issues. The community came together and came up with a plan, starting with an organization called The Nkoilale Community Development Organization (NCDO).  Then they molded their plan of the “Big 5”:

1-     Water (provide clean water to as many as possible in the community)

2-     Education (provide education for all children, no matter age or gender)

3-     Health Care(provide quality and affordable health care within close proximity)

4-     Security (safety for the community)

5-     Sanitation (take care of litter issue as well as possible sources of water contamination)

The Nkoilale Community wanted their home to go from what you see on the left to what you see on the right.

In order to make this plan a reality each head of household sold one cow (The Maasai’s entire wealth revolves around their cattle. To sell a cow is a huge commitment and sacrifice) and they soon had enough to build a main boarding school (now has over 1000 students) with several feeder schools, an up to date Health Center (the first of its kind in the Rift Valley) and a huge water project. The NCDO were able to cap a large, clean spring and ran a water line to a central point in town. There are also several water hydrants along the water line which provides fresh, clean water to the community as whole and surrounding communities.

 

I am absolutely amazed by what this community has been able to accomplish with some cows and the vision and drive of good leadership. They saw a problem and solved it on their own.

It is truly an honor to be able to work with this community, not just as the vice-president of Tabibu Africa, Inc but as an adopted member to the Nkoilale family.  I can say, without a doubt, that this community will be a great example to other communities for decades to come of what great vision, leadership, and focus for the common good can do. 

Gratitude Is Attitude

The word gratitude is derived from the Latin work gratia, which means grace, graciousness, or gratefulness.  In some ways gratitude encompasses all of these meanings.  Gratitude is a thankful appreciation for what an individual receives, whether tangible or intangible.

With gratitude, people acknowledge the goodness in their lives.  In the process, people usually recognize that the source of that goodness lies at least partially outside themselves.

As a result, gratitude also helps people connect to something larger than themselves as individuals-whether to other people, nature, or a higher power.

People feel and express gratitude in multiple ways.  They can apply it to the past, the present, and the future.  Regardless of the inherent or current level of someone's gratitude, it's a quality that individuals can successfully cultivate further.

Tabibu Africa holds deep gratitude to individuals, groups and young and old alike for support in countless ways.  Our gratitude for financial support, the giving of time and talents, and the support in sharing publications is enormous.  Without the blessings of all our supporters, Tabibu Africa could not thrive, not could we do what we do.  Gratitude is truly the attitude we embrace.

Pad Project.

For girls in United States, it is impossible to imagine attending school as an adolescent without the basic necessities of underwear and sanitary products.  However, this is the reality for many girls in Kenya, home to the Maasai people, a semi-nomadic pastoralist community.

Menstruation without these items means many girls have no choice, but to stay at home or confined to their dorms for 5-6 days with each monthly cycle.  The impact of such frequent absenteeism results in lower educational achievements and often leads to girls dropping out of school before completing the KCPE - the Kenyan Primary Certificate.

For Maasai girls who stay in school early marriage may be delayed, but poor performance and absenteeism due to menstruation often leads parents to disregard the benefits of education. Without school, girls as young as nine are subjected to childhood marriage.

Tabibu Africa, working with Days for Girls, is working to create girl-friendly learning environments for some of the most isolated school children in Kenya. Together and with the help of many women in the US, we will be distributing washable sanitary pad kits for 200 school girls attending Nkoilale School, on the Maasai Mara.

This project sets out to ensure primary age school girls who are enrolled in school, stay in school, perform well and continue to secondary and higher institutions of learning.

 For most girls, getting their first period is often a trying time, but for girls in rural Kenya it can mean an end to education. Through Tabibu Africa’s pad project we hope to improve the school learning environment by providing sanitary towels, underwear, hygiene supplies and the delivery of sexual maturation training.

 

 

World Health Day 2015

  Today marks the day of "World Health Day" and this year the WHO (The World Health Organization) is focusing on food safety. 

Foodborne and waterborne diarrheal diseases kill an estimated 2 million people annually, including many children and particularly in developing countries.

WHO says that World Health Day 2015 is a chance to recognize the food safety role of all those involved in food production and to strengthen collaboration and coordination among these areas in order to prevent, detect and respond to food borne diseases efficiently.The actual levels of food borne diseases are estimated to be much higher than what gets reported, underlying the need for improved collaboration to lower risks.

Some of the most important results are related to enteric infections caused by viruses, bacteria and protozoa that enter the body by ingestion of contaminated food. Some stunning facts according to WHO report that there were an estimated 582 million cases of 22 different food borne enteric diseases and 351,000 resulted in death. The Africa region recorded the highest disease burden for these diseases and over 40% of those suffering from food borne disease were children.

Tabibu Africa, Inc believes that hygiene and safe food handling education is key to the solution of this world wide problem. Tabibu Africa, Inc has proven successful hygiene and sanitation programs in place as well as a "Keep Yourself Healthy" workshop for school aged children. This program not only covers issue of food contamination but also water sanitation, sewage & waste disposal, and personal health and hygiene.

Facts of Food Borne Illnesses:

More than 200 diseases are spread through food.

Millions of people fall ill every year and many die as a result of eating unsafe food. Diarrhea diseases alone kill an estimated 1.5 million children annually, and most of these illnesses are attributed to contaminated food or drinking water.

Contaminated food can cause long-term health problems.

The most common symptoms of foodborne disease are stomach pains, vomiting and diarrhea. Food contaminated with heavy metals or with naturally occurring toxins can also cause long-term health problems including cancer and neurological disorders.

Food borne diseases affect vulnerable people harder than other groups.

Infections caused by contaminated food have a much higher impact on populations with poor or fragile health status and can easily lead to serious illness and death. For infants, pregnant women, the sick and the elderly, the consequences of foodborne disease are usually more severe and may be fatal.

 Everybody has a role to play in keeping food safe.

Food safety is a shared responsibility between governments, industry, producers, academia, and consumers. Everyone has a role to play. Achieving food safety is a multi-sectoral effort requiring expertise from a range of different disciplines – toxicology, microbiology, parasitology, nutrition, health economics, and human and veterinary medicine. Local communities, women’s groups and school education also play an important role.

To help Tabibu Africa, Inc spread sanitation, hygiene, and  "Keep Yourself Healthy" programs please click here. 

 www.TabibuAfrica.org

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