UN trophy for village midwife

It is pitch dark in a village in Kisumu that is yet to have electricity.

Mrs Peris Akeyo Oyoo is in labour and needs immediate medical attention. But the nearest hospital is three kilometres away and the labour pangs are intense.

For sure, Nduru Kadero Dispensary is just nearby. But just like the rest of the homes around, it lacks electricity and so does not operate overnight.

But Mrs Oyoo has been told before by community health workers to give birth in a health centre, so she makes her way to the dispensary.

“The watchman allowed me in and called the nurse who did not ask many questions. She took me to the delivery room and went out to fetch a lantern from her home,” says Mrs Oyoo.

It is this lantern, powered by paraffin, that became the source of light throughout the delivery.

Mrs Oyoo’s experience, scaring as it was, helped propel the nurse, Ms Pamela Achieng’ Sombe, to the attention of the United Nations.

Ms Sombe became the tenth recipient of the UN Person of the Year award, usually based on personal commitment towards achieving the UN Millennium Development Goals. She received the award in Gigiri, Nairobi two weeks ago.

Ms Sombe has mow brought light to the village health centre after donors who heard of what she had achieved donated three solar panels.

Pregnant women

There is now an influx of patients to the centre after it hit the headlines. From about three patients seeking antenatal care, the centre is now recording five pregnant women per day.

Touched by the plight of pregnant women in the area four kilometres away from the Bondo-Kisumu road, Ms Sombe dedicated herself to alleviating the hardship and anguish encountered during child birth.

When she was posted to the dispensary in 2006, there was only one other nurse who left a year later. She served alone before another nurse was posted a year ago. The dispensary mainly serves pregnant women and children.

“Most of the time, the women turn up at night in conditions that require referral, but due to lack of a vehicle we cannot get them to the district hospital at such hours,” says Ms Sombe.

“It is my prayer that the award will open up opportunities for the dispensary to be more developed,” she says.

Health workers have to put up with a tiny room measuring about 3.5 square feet for delivery. The single bed is also inadequate when more than one patient turns up for delivery.

“In such instances, we deal with the first patient and seek a bench for her to rest as we usher in the next patient,” says Ms Sombe.

The women have to be discharged soon after delivery, instead of the required 48 hours, due to the lack of beds.

Ms Sombe has been a practising nurse for 17 years after training as a community nurse in Nyabondo Mission Hospital.

The director-general of UN Office in Nairobi (UNON) Ms Sahle-Work Zewde praised Ms Sombe for her selflessness service to the less fortunate.

“She has no qualms attending to the women no matter the time they arrive at the dispensary,” she said of Ms Sombe. “She has overseen countless successful deliveries and even goes out of her way to prepare a hot meal for them despite her meagre means.”

Ms Sombe has appealed to the government to equip and staff dispensaries with facilities for pre-natal care, maternity and post-natal care.

“It is important for the government to invest in the access to quality health care for the women and children in Kenya because they are the pillars of society, especially in the remote areas,” said Ms Sombe.

The runner up to the award was Ms Leah Mwangi for the “Greening Keraita” conservation project.