MANAK COMMUNITY HEALTH ORGANIZATION (MaCHO)
the NEED
Who We Serve:
Yurika, Manak, and the many surrounding smaller villages are located in rural areas in the Northern part of Sierra Leone. These villages have very limited access to adequate medical care. Most of the population rely on farming and fishing for their livelihood. Yurika Community comprises 84 villages. The population is underserved and is mostly made up of children under the age of 18, followed by the elderly, young adults, women, and pregnant women. Family is extended and living conditions are very poor given that the population relies only on seasonal small farming and fishing for their livelihood. Mortality rates for pregnant women and those with preventable disease are disproportionately high in this area compared to the rest of the country.
Long-term Vision:
Our long term vision is for Yurika to have a fully functioning clinic, library, women's center, primary and secondary schools, marketplace, and any other capital or programmatic resources needed to ensure long-term individual and community health and wellbeing. A permanent clinic in Yurika is critical because it will:
- Increase capacity with more exam rooms, triage rooms, and observation rooms, as well an an indoor waiting area (critical during the rainy season).
- Include a maternal/child care unit where women can safely receive pre- and post-natal care and deliver their babies in their community where they feel safe and supported.
- Provide out-patient psychiatric care. There is currently no psychiatric care except in the most severe cases (psychiatric hospital in Freetown). There is a great deal of stigma associated with psychiatric conditions and care. Integrating psychiatric care into primary care will allow patients to be screened for depression when they come in for primary care, ensure that care is provided by a trusted medical provider within the community, reduce stigma, and increase compliance with care plans.
Education and Literacy:
The literacy level is very low in Sierra Leone (43.2%) and even lower in these remote villages. At present, there is only one small school in Yurika, which can only accommodate some of the younger children for one half of the school day and older children for the other half. Higher education is not accessible for most. Education and literacy are critical to health and wellbeing. Increased education and literacy will increase understanding of health-related information and opportunities for income-generating activities. We hope to increase education and literacy in these communities by establishing libraries and schools near health clinics. In Yurika, our first site, this means building a library, building a women's center to teach women income-generating sewing and crafting skills, and building an additional school so that both primary and secondary students have access to full-day schooling. We also provide health-education at all medical visits and plan to identify and help train older students who are interested in careers in healthcare.