Proscovia, Midwife
About Johari
In 2009, Johari was one month pregnant with twins when she became seriously ill with malaria. Without access to adequate information about how to protect herself from the life-threatening disease Johari was sick throughout her pregnancy.
When her babies were born she was relieved to find they were both healthy. But soon realised that her son, had health challenges. He was frequently unwell and had to go to the hospital for a check-up nearly every month where he’d get tested and treated for malaria if the results were positive.
"I OFTEN WORK ON THE 12-HOUR NIGHT SHIFT, WHICH IS HARD BUT GOOD FOR HELPING THOSE WHO ARE SCARED AT THAT TIME. WHEN IT IS HARD, I OFTEN FIND THERE IS STILL LIGHT. A WOMAN I HELPED CAME IN AND HUGGED ME IN THE CLINIC RECENTLY."
PROSCOVIA
Although malaria is the leading disease in her community, things have improved, and people are now much more aware of the signs and symptoms of the disease. Between March 2018 and March 2019, the number of children under the age of 5 testing positive for malaria at her clinic reduced from 44 per week to 32 per week. Parents now know what symptoms to look out for, and when they should go to a health facility like Proscovia’s for testing, treatment and support.
Proscovia has family of her own and says that the combination of family and work , along with her job at the health centre, means she has the best of both worlds.
Jacob, field operations manager for Tanzania Communication and Development Center (TCDC), believes that there has been real change since the project began, thanks to the efforts of people like Proscovia