It has been one week since Kenya announced the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the country. Although the Kenyan government has instituted several measures aimed at slowing the spread of the disease, there has been a lot of concern about what can be done to protect communities such as Kibera, where the majority of residents are vendors and/or rely on daily incomes. Most are unable to stock large amounts of food or stay home for more than even a day without earning.
So today, we implemented the first phase of our response efforts. We hired some of the members of our Bright Futures program, working in small groups, to create 140 bottles of hand soap, providing them with an extra source of income at this uncertain time.
Our team then distributed the soap to 140 small businesses in Kibera. At each business premise, we explained the risks of an outbreak and measures that business owners can take to protect themselves and their customers, particularly focusing on the importance of hand washing and maintaining distance as much as possible. We requested permission to display a informative poster at each business.
We also met up with David Avido who was out distributing masks he made out of African fabrics and spreading the word about protective measures community members should take.
