Transmara Health Centre

On the way to Sitoka, a Maasai village in Narok County, West Kenya.

Noorkipali Nooloboru is one of the traditional birth attendants (TBAs) in Sitoka, a Maasai village in Narok County, West Kenya. TRDP are re-training TBAs to encourage them to take women to hospital to deliver their babies. Although the culture dictates that women give birth at home, too many women are dying unnecessarily due to complications that could easily be dealt with at hospital.

Noorkitoip Joyce Julius (38), a mother of seven, is from Sitoka, a Maasai village in Narok County, Kenya. She has witnessed many women in the village go through complications before, during and after labour and many have lost their lives. She is very thankful that the dispensary has been opened in the village so people now have access to healthcare. She is also thankful for the 4x4 ambulance that TRDP has provided as they no longer have to hire expensive cars in an emergency. The closest hospital is 46km away and the roads are near non-existent meaning that the journey can take up to three hours by car.

TRDP's ambulance which provides a lifeline to communities in the Transmara district of West Kenya. People in remote villages like Sitoka, a Maasai village, can now call the ambulance in cases of emergency. To access even basic healthcare, villagers need to hire private vehicles to travel to the nearest hospitals Lolgorian or Kilgoris which is very costly and can take hours. The rough terrain means most vehicles cannot reach the villages, especially during the rainy season, and many lives have been lost either in the village or on the long journey. The 4x4 ambulance has given them the chance to get the treatment they need and quickly which saves lives.

The new dispensary in Sitoka, a Maasai village in Narok County, Kenya. Chief Kaka and some of the elders, with support from TRDP, visited the governor to put pressure on him to get a nurse for the clinic. After years of work, the dispensary is now open.

People of Sitoka, a Maasai village in Narok County, Kenya, wait in the newly opened dispensary.

The opening of the new dispensary in Sitoka, a Maasai village in Narok County, Kenya.

The opening of the new dispensary in Sitoka, a Maasai village in Narok County, Kenya.

Local youth provide the music at the opening of the new dispensary in Sitoka, a Maasai village in Narok County, Kenya.

Women of Sitoka, a Maasai village in Narok County, Kenya, singing at the opening of the new dispensary.

Christine Parakuo is 26. Here she sits on the left and plays with her son Kishoyian Samson with Elizabeth Ntunkosio's. Sitoka, a Maasai village in Narok County, Kenya.

The paediatric ward at the Lolgorian Sub-district Hospital, Narok County, Kenya. TRDP has provided medical equipment to this hospital and helped to refurbish the antenatal clinic.

The paediatric ward at the Lolgorian Sub-district Hospital, Narok County, Kenya.

Delivery equipment at the maternity ward at the Lolgorian Sub-district Hospital, Narok County, Kenya.

Babies are weighed at the Antenatal Clinic at Lolgorian Sub-district Hospital, Narok County, Kenya.

The Antenatal Clinic at Lolgorian Hospital, Narok County, Kenya.

Sitoka, a Maasai village in Narok County, Kenya.

Melita Sadera (49) has two wives and 16 children. He lives in Sitoka, a Maasai village in Narok County, Kenya. Melita attends the Fathers' Forum, set up by TRDP, along with Mother-to-Mother support groups, to help educate and encourage mothers to deliver their babies in hospital rather than at home where complications can lead to the death of the mother and/or baby.

Traditional birth attendants (TBAs) at Sitoka, a Maasai village in Narok County, West Kenya. TRDP are re-training TBAs to encourage them to take women to hospital to deliver their babies. Although the culture dictates that women give birth at home, too many women are dying unnecessarily due to complications that could easily be dealt with at hospital.

Joyce Katato Kaka (26), a mother of three, is attending one of the Mother-to-Mother support groups that TRDP has set up, along with the Fathers' Froums, to help educate and encourage women to have babies in the hospital rather than at home where complications can lead to the death of the mother and/or child. The group brings together the women of the village (in this case Sitoka in Narok County in Western Kenya) to discuss any topics or issues that affect their daily life from generating extra income to nutrition to breastfeeding.

CTRDP has introduced Mother-to-Mother support groups, along with the Fathers' Forums, to help educate and encourage women to have babies in the hospital rather than at home where complications can lead to the death of the mother and/or child. The group brings together the women of the village (in this case Sitoka in Narok County, Kenya) to discuss any topics or issues that affect their daily life from generating extra income to nutrition to breastfeeding. They also lend money to set up businesses and this is the paperwork for a small loan.