Kericho 10-man scout team creating Covid-19 awareness

On March 13, 2020, the government announced the first case of coronavirus in the country and many hardly believed that it was a matter of wait and see before the virus struck the four corners of the country.

Kericho County enjoyed two months of virus-free within its borders, with the county administration setting up measures to keep off the disease from the county.

On May 20, the Ministry of Health on its daily updates of the virus situation confirmed that Kericho was marked as one of the 33 counties to report the virus.

The county under Governor Paul Chepkwony announced tougher measures to keep off the cases from escalating, including screening all visitors entering the county from its borders and fumigating market places.

But way back before, a scout team of ten-members was already on the ground creating awareness to the locals about the virus.

The team led by Karim Charles told the Star that it was not a walk on the park to convince the locals that the virus was real rather than a ‘white’s man diseases’ as it was perceived at its first stage.

Karim said that on many occasions, the team encountered total unpreparedness and lack of knowledge about the diseases from the residents.

The most astonishing finding was that some families share face masks due to financial constraints.

They don't put on the face masks or observe social distancing. Some share masks amongst the family members since they cannot afford to buy more than one.

Charles Karim.

The little free face masks issued by the government hardly reach the old people in the area, women finding it hard to fight for masks with the youth.

The team received a little help from the county department of medical services which gave them face masks and sanitisers to distribute as they create awareness.

The Aim of the team

The Covid-19 Scout response team said it is targeting to reach out to 10,000 families and inform them pivotal measures in curbing further spread of the virus.

With the slogan Scouts Stopping Coronavirus, the team has managed to visit 3,000 households in Belgut, Ainamoi and Sigowet-Soin sub-counties since the onset of the exercise.

Karim Charles-, the Scout Commissioner based in Ainamoi sub-county.
Image: COURTESY

They told the Star that they are determined to cover the remaining three constituencies within the county including Kipkelion East, Kipkelion West and Bureti.

The team also provides residents with free face masks and informs them of the importance of maintaining a 1.5-meter rule, avoiding crowded places as well as washing their hands properly.

They also distribute bar soaps as well as Covid-19 information brochures and leaflets from the government drafted in both English and Kiswahili

 The difficult part of the exercise

Karim said they are depending on their pockets to carry out the exercise since no one has come across to facilitate their movement.

The team during the door to door awareness campaign.
Image: COURTESY

With the deteriorating economy, the team leader said that they have tried several times to reach the county government to facilitate them with transportation but the unending protocols and promises have kept them waiting for long.

The short rain season has also affected their operation due to heavy rains in the area, but they are still determined to carry out the awareness campaign.

The Scout Rovers have appealed for help in most of the cooperates within the county and even reach to the county government for assistance to no avail.

Residents at times have likened the team with the police officers, running away once they see them approaching their premises.

Image: COURTESY

Also, most of the locals could not understand the messages printed in English and Kiswahili, forcing the ream to translate them to their languages.

They, therefore, want the government to create more awareness campaigns to them using their local languages.

By July 6, the country had recorded 181 new cases tallying the number of positive cases reported to 8,067.

Kericho County has confirmed 10 cases of the virus with zero deaths.

Kenya has seen 164 people lose their lives due to the virus with 2,414 people recovering from the disease.

On Monday, President Uhuru Kenyatta suspended cessation of movement into and out of Nairobi, Mombasa and Mandera.

Nairobi is the epicentre of the virus in the country with more than 4,000 cases followed by Mombasa which has recorded more than 1,500 cases.