By Waridi Ajambo
Daystar Compassion and Care Center (DCCC) successfully organized yet another health week in the Athi River campus from the 10th to the 14th of March 2014.
A schedule was made to enable the smooth flow of activities during the week. HIV testing and counseling, conduction of the Tuesday chapel service, cancer screening and community outreach program.
Sunni Chebet, an intern at the DCCC office, believes that each of the health weeks has its own success story. This awareness week was not limited to the Daystar university students; it reached out to the community surrounding the university. The off-campus activities were held at the old ACK church which is now the St John’s Primary school. HIV testing and counseling which happened throughout the week took place at the grounds near the schools canteen; it attracted a large number of students and school staff.
During the DCCC chapel their coordinator, Mrs. Susan Botto, the shared her personal experience about the importance of maintaining one’s purity and being able to stand up for what one believes in. Ahadi Kenya, which helps organise events and come with campaigns to encourage university students to maintain their sexual purity, sent in three representatives to the DCCC chapel. It also informs them on methods of protection.
Cancer screening was being done; and for the second time screening for prostate cancer was available.
Registration of students who are interested peer counselling training begun on Monday and the deadline stretched to the 4th week of March. NOPE (National Organisation of Peer Educators) International Institute is the organisation that has been contracted to conduct the training which will be offered every Wednesday from 3:30p.m to 5:00p.m. The training will be centred on “Strategic and Behaviour Change Communication”. The DCCC’s movie night was cancelled since another event was being held at the same time.
The Community Outreach held at Daystar Mulandi Primary School targeted the Daystar community. DCCC took the health check-up services to the school and offered tokens of appreciation to the school as a gesture of goodwill.