Meet Rogers, the man they call 'The Doctor'
Rogers Ochieng Otieno is a dedicated health volunteer
Rogers Ochieng Otieno isn't a qualified doctor. He's a volunteer community health worker.
But when people see him arrive in their village, they call out: 'Daktari umefika!' – 'The doctor has arrived!'
Rogers volunteers with the Rural Transport Network (RTN), providing remote communities around Lake Victoria, Kenya, with life-saving knowledge about malaria prevention.
He also distributes chemically treated mosquito nets – when he has them.
I met Rogers and his family recently when I travelled to his town, Usenge, which is in a highly malarial area because of the many mosquitoes that breed in and around Lake Victoria – the world's second largest body of freshwater.
I spent a fascinating few days with Rogers as he went about his work. And here, 12-year-old Helen Akoth talks to him about how having a mosquito net has changed her life. Rogers also learns that Helen's net is torn and highlights that it needs to be replaced.
Video: Rogers at work
Rogers recently received a motorbike through the RTN, which means he can reach even more people. He regularly travels 14 kilometres or more to visit an isolated community, which simply wouldn't be possible on foot.
Sadly, however, he doesn't always have the mosquito nets these communities need. Which is tough, because there are so many children like Helen who still don't have proper protection from malaria. And this is why the disease continues to kill a child in Africa every 45 seconds.
I'll keep you posted with more news about Rogers and his life-saving work soon, so please check back on netsnow.org. But in the meantime, please keep sending more nets!
Antoinette Powell,
Christian Aid
