Meet the 2022 Healthcare Provider Champions - Kenya
Joyce Oluoch, nominator
Why did you nominate your healthcare provider?
I nominated Joyce Adhiambo because of her passion for what she does as a peer navigator. When I met Joyce, I felt some ease and calmness that I never experienced before. This prompted me to open up to her regarding the predicaments that have been tormenting me and that I do not share even with my family.
Joyce Adhiambo, peer navigator
I am “doing the right thing” because…
I have faced a great deal of stigma and discrimination from my own family and even community members around me. This gave me the motivation to think about how to overcome this by championing the removal of stigma and discrimination within our community.
What was the turning point?
I have been living with HIV for the past 20 years and have gone through a lot of mental health challenges because of life-turning events, like HIV/TB and STIs that I had, and even being a sex worker when sex work is illegal. I touched so many lives and thought about how to deal with mental health issues when it comes to health-seeking behaviour.
Joy Handa, nominator
Why did you nominate your healthcare provider?
I nominated Joshua because of his love and dedication to his clients. He never gives up on a client and will try to find help for all his clients. Joshua is very caring; he understands his clients and goes out of his way to visit them in their homes to check on them. He will use his own resources and time to look for lost clients and bring them back on medication.
He came to look for me when I became a defaulter and brought me books to encourage me. He would call to check on my welfare and would go out of his way to remind me of my day at the clinic. When my antibiotics were out of stock, he looked for them and delivered them to me himself.
When a friend was sick, he talked to a doctor who went to my friend’s home and performed tests to help the sick sister who was too weak to go to hospital.
Joshua Otieno, social worker
I am “doing the right thing” because…
My work is to keep my clients alive at all costs and I am dedicated to that. Personally, my care providers rescued me from death, and so when I became one, I chose to give back what I was given.
Kyle Solomon, nominator
Why did you nominate your healthcare provider?
Ibrahim’s customer service is always the best and he never judges you based on your appearance. He is professional with his work and very friendly too. I remember when I was new to the facility, he handled me like I was his little brother, guided me and assisted me when I needed support. He is the best receptionist at the SWOP clinic.
Ibrahim Lwingi, clinic receptionist
I am “doing the right thing” because…
I am helping the community come out and access health services.
What was the turning point?
I lost many people in my family because of HIV. As an LGBTIQ person, I had nowhere to access services and knew that many people were going through the same thing. I need to be the face of the community so that they can stop shying away from coming out and accepting themselves as LGBTIQ persons.
Abdulwahid Hassan, nominator
Why did you nominate your healthcare provider?
Everlyne Ochola is an extraordinary woman who is very open-minded and non-judgemental. She has interacted with many LGBTIQ sex workers around the coast region for more than three years. She has vast knowledge of how to work, interact and create spaces where LGBTIQ people are able to speak freely and express their needs. This has contributed a lot to reaching so many LGBTIQ people around Kilifi County. She is the best version of a safe space.
Everlyne Ochola, nurse
I am “doing the right thing” because…
There has been low uptake of health services among key populations, and this contributed to high transmission rates of both HIV and STIs. I am doing the right thing because I work with a dynamic team of professionals that contributes towards reducing HIV acquisition and STIs.
What was the turning point?
I witnessed a person from a key population being stigmatized at a public facility and imagined myself in such a situation. I would love to be in an environment where everyone could access healthcare services regardless of who they are. We are not there yet, but, with continuous sensitization of healthcare providers, it can be achieved.