WiRED Salutes Magdalyne Odhiso Onglinjo
BY ALLISON KOZICHAROW AND BERNICE BORN
Magdalyne Odhiso Onglinjo has done her homework, and it has paid off for her — and for her community.
Because of all she has learned about health, she has earned a platinum certificate from WiRED International’s Certificate Program (see sidebar). She has taken 47 WiRED health education courses and has passed all the tests with a grade of 80% or higher.
Magdalyne is a 26-year-old children’s counselor who serves the Nyawita community through the Kisumu Urban Apostolate Programme (KUAP-Pandieri) center. Kisumu, an underserved port city in Western Kenya, has one of the country’s highest rates of poverty and its poorest health conditions.
Challenges to the people of Nyawita include poor housing, poor sanitation, lack of access to clean water, and the threat of infectious and noninfectious diseases.
Magdalyne said, “These challenges motivated me to study many WiRED International modules to acquire knowledge to help my community.” As a counselor she participates in group trainings at the center to teach people how to lead healthier lives. The modules cover basic health knowledge on hand-washing, maternal and reproductive health, clean water strategies, first aid, home care-giver training and HIV/AIDS.
“With WiRED’s interactive training programs, community members can educate themselves and save lives by learning from materials on the WiRED website.”
— Magdalyne Odhiso Onglinjo
“With WiRED’s interactive training programs, community members can educate themselves and save lives by learning from materials on the WiRED website,” Magdalyne added. She particularly focuses on disease prevention and on informing people about precautions they can take against illness.
WiRED believes that educating a sufficient number of people about healthy practices and teaching them to recognize the signs and symptoms of illness can elevate the health of an entire community. WiRED sees this as similar to providing herd immunity, where vaccinating a sufficient number of people protects an entire community.
Magdalyne encourages people to go to the WiRED Learning Center because, as she says, “WiRED resources are free to users. All you need is … time and concentration.”
WiRED’s Certificate Program encourages community members to study a given module, and, when they're ready, to take a comprehensive exam on the material. To qualify for a certificate, people must pass each exam with an 80% mark or better. Certificate levels comprise platinum certificates — the highest certificate level — for having successfully completed more than 40 health modules; gold certificates (25 modules); silver certificates (15 modules); and entry-level bronze certificates for completing at least five modules. Certificates are not offered as accreditation; their purpose is to confirm successful completion of the training programs. See earlier story on the program.