Amidst the Post-Election Violence, the Community Comes to the Rescue of a Nurse
(2008 CARE )
Nyanja's small facility, supported by CARE through the Health Store Foundation, serves both as pharmacy and as a clinic for basic medical consultations and referrals. Her community practice operates in an area where people's health is often at risk due to the poor conditions they are living in.
Medical services in the slum are far and few in between.
"The situation in Kibera has been chaotic since December 29th, two days after Kenyans went to the polls," says Dorah in her soft spoken voice. The slum area where she works an average of 12 hours a day and attends to approximately five patients per hour is a stronghold of opposition leader Raila Odinga.
Entire sections of Kibera have been burnt down immediately after Mwai Kibaki was declared President. Protesters and police have clashed repeatedly on the streets of Kibera, while stray bullets have claimed the lives of innocent people, including children.
Official estimates say that more than 64 people have died in Kibera alone, but real casualties are likely higher. Though she never closed down her business entirely, Nyanja had to adapt to an increasingly volatile and tense situation.
(2008 CARE)
"Clients have my cell number. When they desperately needed a medical consultation or medicines, they called me up and we let them in. We kept the doors of the clinic shut in order not to draw attention," she says.
Being the mother of three children, Dorah's family was naturally worried about her staying in Kibera at the height of the post-election violence.
"I simply could not leave at a time when the community needed me the most. I felt this would be unfair to them. I saw a lot of people injured with machete cuts and dislocations. I did some first aid as I cannot manage more than that here."
Her commitment to serving the residents of Soweto Village did not go unnoticed as the community came to her rescue when arsonists were bent on tearing her building down.
"They persuaded the mob to spare my clinic. They said they needed the medical services and that I was there to assist them. Grievances against the owner, they said, should not be taken out on me and that ultimately they would all suffer from not having a pharmacy and a small health facility."
Nyanja is visibly moved as she recounts her ordeal though she can't conceal a radiant smile because she is keenly aware that the community she serves protected her at a time when things were out of control and violence in Kibera made headlines news all over the world.
But what is the situation now, one month after the disputed elections?
(2008 CARE )
She speaks of children displaying more violent behavior and asking unusual questions that reflect Kenya's current polarization. "What is your ethnic group Daktari?" is a question she hears from children nowadays and one that particularly worries her. She responds to them, "What does tribe have to do with me being here?"
Like many other Kenyans, Nyanja is the product of a mixed marriage between two different tribes, a status that has never been an issue before.
Though this is not the first time that ethnic violence has flared up after national elections, she says, this is the first time that divisions are so pronounced and widespread.
"I think we will need a lot of psycho-social support to offset what has happened in Kibera and the rest of the country," she says. "Parents need to understand that children internalize what they see and hear and they translate that into behaviors. There is a need for counseling and a lot of community work to rebuild the social fabric."
When asked about incidences of rape and sexual violence, she confirms that post-electoral chaos has contributed to an increase of cases but says that many still go unreported.
"There is stigmatization in the community and victims often feel they are dirty and have done something wrong," explains Nyanja adding that not too long ago, at the beginning of December, the Nairobi Women's Hospital held a one-day-workshop in Kibera on how to identify and treat rape cases.
"The problem is that some women come to me but much later when they are either pregnant or are dealing with a sexually transmitted infection."
Most importantly, she adds, many people are now destitute since they lost their businesses during the recent surge of violence. Burning and looting destroyed people's livelihoods and has had a tremendous impact on the informal economy of Kibera.
"Barely 40 percent of my clients can now afford to pay me even half of the cost of medicines," says Nyanja whose business is based on a cash-on-delivery principle for restocking essential medicines like antibiotics, anti-malaria and skin lotions for treating rashes and other skin-related conditions.
"This morning I saw a family of four, a mother and three children, who have been my clients for a long time. They were all very sick. I gave them medicines but they could not afford to pay anything," she explains.
"The mother used to run a green grocer shop in Kibera but during the general looting it was burnt down. She is now destitute and needs to start from scratch but has absolutely no money left."
Nyanja says that if it were not for the community, her building too would have been burnt down by the arsonists and she would have nothing left.
"I am now issuing my drugs on humanitarian grounds but I cannot do this for a long time as my supplies are running low and I am already out of essential stocks."
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