Vincent, a village health team volunteer in Uganda, holds baby Remigio.
Vincent Kakooza is a village health team worker in Uganda. He battles malaria every day. Read how his training and dedication saved the life of 6-month-old Remigio, who is very special to him!
Vincent Kakooza knew exactly what to do the night that baby Remigio fell horribly ill, thanks to a radio show, a rapid test kit for malaria, and medicine supplied by World Vision.
Vincent is a village health team worker in Uganda, one of 250 such workers in Kiboga, a district with 350,000 residents. Across Uganda, every community has two village health team workers. They are the front line of defense against Uganda’s killer diseases: malaria, diarrhea, and pneumonia.
Village health team workers are unpaid volunteers. They only receive five days of training. By every right, they should fail miserably.
But when they work in communities where World Vision operates, they are held in high esteem.
Villagers call them “doctor.”
That’s because World Vision is the advocate of these unpaid lifesavers.
World Vision gives them what they need to succeed: bicycles to pedal down rutted roads, rubber boots to stomp through the rain, clothing that signifies who they are, and most importantly, medicine to treat malaria, diarrhea, and pneumonia.
World Vision produces a radio program that teaches them how to diagnose and treat illnesses. Staff text the volunteers with questions after the program to test their knowledge.
By Kari Costanza
(©2014 Jon Warren/World Vision)
