Community is at the heart of every action taken by Lwala Community Alliance. Whether it involves organizing community committees to launch their own health initiatives, training them to deliver high quality care to their neighbors, or arming the community with information so they can hold the health system accountable, Lwala was founded on the principal of community-directed health initiatives to face their own health needs.

“The work I do is not for the organization, it is for the community members of Lwala. I do it to change the lives of the community members that need their life to be changed through me,” says Paul Odero. Paul grew up in a neighboring village and went to school not too far from the Lwala Community Hospital. When he fell ill during his school years, he remembers being amazed by the care he received at the hospital from Lwala. It changed the course of his life. Paul went to university to study nursing, and with his new degree and high marks, could have found work easily in any environment. But for Paul, the only option was to return home and to give back to the health care institution that inspired him on this path.

“Somebody who comes from the community is somebody who understands the core issues and major challenges being faced in the community. It makes the community complete, if a person from the community is brought forward to serve. I am proud to be that person. I am proud when people recognize me and see that I went and got my degree and came back to serve my community.”

Paul was assigned to the maternity ward, where he discovered a special talent for caring for the smallest and most vulnerable population served by Lwala. Before long, he knew all the mothers by name, and this special attention to their care created bonds that encouraged these women to feel embraced by their healthcare providers. Women under his care kept coming back, and their children thrived because of this positive association with Lwala.

His attentiveness and humane treatment had a positive outcome for Paul, too, as after ten months in maternity, he was promoted to oversee all of Lwala’s community outreaches and coordinate the team leaders and community health workers.

Lwala recruits, trains, pays, supervises, and equips transformed traditional birth attendants to extend high-quality care to every home. Their digitally-empowered Community Health Workers track pregnancies, encourage facility deliveries, ensure on-time immunizations, test and treat common childhood illnesses, provide family planning services, and connect clients to health centers.

“I really love the young ones,” says Paul with a smile. “When the mothers come for the services and you call them by name, and know the names of their sons and daughters, you bond with them, so that they feel that you recognize them. You accept them, and you value them. It makes it easy for these people in the community to feel important and recognized, and that will keep them continually coming back and seeking what’s best for their health.”