Uhai for Health Inc., is formed exclusively for health and educational purposes with the meaning of section 501(c)(3) of the internal revenue code, and specifically to promote health in the African born community in Worcester and in Kenya.
The Goals and Objective for UHAI for Health, Inc. are:
1) To work with the African born community in Worcester, to promote education and awareness about preventable health conditions and to connect people to medical services
2) To promote health awareness, conduct medical screenings, and to connect communities to health services in Kenya
3) To increase the skills of community health workers and educators in Kenya
4) To research cultural and structural barriers that prevent people from accessing screenings and services
UHAI activities typically take place in Kenya and in Worcester, MA among Africans and African-born immigrants. Past projects included a medical mission, an organization of youth girls’ support group, and an African Women’s Health Fair.
UHAI focuses on aspects of health education and prevention in African rural communities. Specifically we target hypertension, diabetes, breast and cervical cancer screening. In Worcester, MA, UHAI collaborates with community health clinics, hospitals, and universities for broader community outreach. We work with physicians from Women’s Health of Central Massachusetts, UMass Memorial Medical Center, Worcester Healthy Start, Akwaaba Free Health Clinic, Clark University, and the YWCA.
History*
When I was growing up in Africa, I was used to a healthcare system and culture that did not dwell a lot on preventive medicine, hence, you only went to the hospital when you were sick. This would change after immigrating to US where I learned about disease screening and well visits even when I was not sick. In 1998 I lost both my father and my brother in Kenya to very preventable causes, while this was normal there, it was not for me. I kept wondering, if they were screened before or had they had immediate medical attention they would be alive. In 2004, my younger sister almost lost her life. She developed severe preeclampsia at 32 weeks gestation, she was lucky to survive and not so with the baby. The previous experiences of pain and frustration propelled me to think of a way that I would be able to help others not to experience the pain I had borne. I was determined to change and also be a change agent in my community.
I started by changing my career. I took a major in Community Health Education where I graduated with a Bachelor’s degree and became a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) and later completed my Master’s in Health Education. While in school, I did some work as a health educator in the African community. I noticed that most of the women I was working with had some chronic diseases including diabetes and/or hypertension. After interviewing some of the women, I found out that lack of health insurance, transportation, complexity of the US healthcare system, fear of immigration, cultural, language and religious barriers prevented them from accessing healthcare. I was very eager to know if the women back in Africa had the same poor health outcomes and what would be the cause.
In August of 2006, I made my first trip to Kenya and in collaboration with another organization, we were able to screen over 200 people for diabetes and hypertension, to my amazement we found that there were many individuals who had chronic diseases, some of them did not have the knowledge of their conditions. The cultural, religious barriers were the same but lack of access to health information and services put them in more risks. I repeated the same drill on 2008. With enough evidence, I saw the dire need for health education, screening and Medical services. This was the sole purpose of starting UHAI for Health Inc.
In 2010, Uhai for Health as an organization conducted it first medical mission. We were able to screen about 600 individuals for diabetes, hypertension, breast and cervical cancer. Other than working in Africa, Uhai work collaboratively with other organizations in improving the health of the Africans in Worcester. We have been involved in going to different churches to talk to people about health. Other areas of need includes helping people understand and navigate the complex healthcare system.
*Jane Kimani’s testimony.