Being a physiotherapist stimulates my creativity
I’ve been working as a physiotherapist and project manager at HI for 11 years. Initially, I wanted to become a physiotherapist because the profession corresponded perfectly to my values: promoting health and well-being. Gradually, I decided to specialise in community rehabilitation to help people living in very difficult situations, particularly in rural areas where resources are desperately lacking. The autonomy that my work offers stimulates my creativity, because it forces me to innovate and develop solutions that are adapted to the context.
“I remember making a ramp for a woman living in the Kakuma refugee camp who had become paraplegic. Thanks to this ramp, she was able to get in and out of her house without having to ask her children for help.”
I'm proud to work for equality and equity
Being an aid worker is very rewarding, as I work with displaced people to help them overcome obstacles and build resilience. By supporting them, I become part of their community and our relationship is based on mutual trust and friendship. I'm proud to be part of the HI community because I fully embrace its fundamental values that aim to ensure everyone equal and equitable treatment.
"For me, inclusion means actively embracing diversity and creating spaces where everyone feels valued, respected and has the same opportunities to contribute and participate meaningfully in their community. To achieve this, everyone must purposefully remove the barriers and prejudices that exclude certain groups or individuals because of their differences.”
Every day, I meet incredibly resilient and dignified people. I remember, for example, Yemane Tewelde Tesfazion, a 66-year-old Eritrean refugee who had both legs amputated because of complications from diabetes. When I met him in September 2021, he was very sad. He was getting around in a broken old wheelchair and felt that he was a burden on the people around him who had to help him. HI provided him with prostheses and he underwent a physical and functional rehabilitation programme. After ten months, Yemane was proudly going about his daily activities independently. He was especially delighted to be able to use public transport, including the infamous boda-boda (motorbikes) to go to his medical appointments in the busy city of Nairobi.
The day-to day-survival of the refugees depends on humanitarian aid
The current population of Dadaab is just over 380,000 refugees and asylum seekers. Overcrowding in the camp is putting a strain on its infrastructure. Its inhabitants are heavily dependent on international aid, and the reduction in funding over the last few years has only heightened their needs. The elderly and the people with disabilities in particular encounter great difficulties accessing healthcare, education, hygiene and employment.
"Managing people's expectations is the most difficult part of my job. The needs in the camp, including access to food and accommodation, far exceed the resources available. Most of the people with specific needs that I work with depend solely on humanitarian aid. They are not offered any lasting solutions.”
I work with young people, women at risk of violence and people with disabilities. The diversity of this target population requires a good understanding of intersectionality within the community to identify the factors that increase their vulnerability to the risks of violations. We support them by providing physical and functional rehabilitation services, prostheses, mobility aids such as crutches, financial support, training and the development of sporting activities.
“I think that one of the solutions to the lack of resources lies in training healthcare professionals to be inclusive and to take account of the community's resources. That's why I decided to enrol at the university to do a master's degree in training health professionals. I want not only to provide healthcare, but also to contribute more broadly to prevention strategies and promote inclusive health education.”
