Transitioning to Covid-19 emergency response
It is with a heavy heart that I share the news that Kenya has just been hit by another wave of the COVID-19 virus, which has caused hospitals and intensive care units to be overwhelmed in many places including my home county of Nakuru.
Here in Kenya the weather is starting to become cold as the winter months are upon us, and we are concerned about the impact this will have on the spread of the virus and how this could lead to local, poorly equipped healthcare centres becoming overwhelmed, and key workers being unable to go to work.
As supporters of Dig Deep, you will know that our primary focus is to ensure that everyone has clean water, safe toilets, and good hygiene, and during these difficult times this is more important than ever before. This is why we urgently need to raise £10,000 to supply life saving equipment such as face masks, hand sanitiser, handwashing facilities and training to some of the most vulnerable communities and institutions in Bomet and Nakuru counties in Kenya.
The risk of our staff and family members contracting COVID-19 is still high, which is why I am really happy to tell you that in April myself, along with Nelly, Nicholas and Nicky, became some of the first people in Kenya to be vaccinated. We have been recognised by the county government as key workers which we are so appreciative of as this status allows us to continue to travel between counties to deliver life-saving training and supplies. However, not everyone has been recognised as a front-line worker, including our colleagues in the police and health service and they are currently unprotected without access to life saving equipment such as face masks, hand sanitiser, handwashing facilities and training.
While Dig Deep is not an emergency organisation we do respond when a crisis affects our community, and unfortunately this is happening now. This is why we need to get to work right away to protect the lives of some of the most vulnerable here in Kenya. If you can, please help by donating today or spreading the word by setting up a Facebook fundraiser.
Written by Justus Tanui, Head of Programmes, Dig Deep Kenya.
If you would like to make a donation in support of our emergency response work please click here, or if you would like to know more about the work Dig Deep is doing or speak to a member of the team please email info@digdeep.org.uk