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Pauline Karani –
"A True Kenyan Hero"
For the CHIC program in Kenya, Pauline Karani has been a manager, coach, program designer, and counselor, as well as a remarkable source of inspiration. WiRED's executive director describes how Ms. Karani coordinated the effort to weave the ideas of young Kenyans into the design and operating procedures of the CHICs.
"We started with a basic idea to use information technology in the service of HIV/AIDS education and prevention, and we looked to the Kenyan people to help us bring the concept to life," says Gary Selnow, Ph.D. "We held many discussions with field staff, medical educators, traditional healers and birth attendants, the most vulnerable young people, and victims of the AIDS plague. As we listened carefully, Pauline extracted from each discussion the insights that helped fully integrate the CHIC facilities into communities throughout Kenya."
She helped John Oduor, developer of the program for disabled people, set up special activities for these most vulnerable Kenyans. She helped Gray Maghanga operate, research, and analyze programs. And she guided Zippy Wananswa with her program coordination activities. Ms. Karani brought this staff and all the many field managers and volunteers into the CHIC family. It's no wonder she is known everywhere as Mama CHIC.
Ms. Karani is also the devoted mother of two boys and two girls. She grew up in a small town in southern Kenya within sight of Mt. Kilimanjaro, just over the Tanzanian border. As a young woman, she moved to Nairobi, where she studied journalism. She has remained in South Central Kenya ever since.
"Pauline has been a good colleague and friend since the earliest days of the CHIC program," says Dr. Selnow. "By giving people a platform to share ideas, by listening with genuine interest, by weaving the threads spun by all these people, Pauline led the way for WiRED to transform a good idea into a highly successful and valuable program that saves lives by preventing AIDS. My admiration for Pauline is unbounded. I see her as a true Kenyan hero."
Over the last seven years, an estimated one million Kenyans have had access to accurate information about HIV/AIDS and other critical health-related topics thanks to WiRED’s Community Health Information Centers (CHICs). As WiRED makes plans to refurbish and update five CHICs in this country, we reflect on our past work and goals for the future.
With this story, we honor Pauline Karani's pivotal role in the CHICs and share her first-person narrative about the program.
WiRED started its CHIC programs in 2001 with a network of 19 Centers in Kenya. The CHICs were a partnership between WiRED and local community-based organizations (CBOs). These organizations provided a location, power, and management of staff, while WiRED provided the content, computers, maintenance, and administration. Led by Kenya Manager Pauline Karani, the administration was critical because it set procedures, coordinated efforts, and ensured that useful health information material was developed.
Look at this photo collection to view a small sample of people in Africa who make the work of WiRED possible (there may be a slight delay while the images download).
A developmental grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) paid for the CHIC staff, so when the funding ran out in 2004, the administrative role ended. Despite this, many of the CHICs, run by the local CBOs, continue to operate and offer health information to local people. However, today they are in great need of upgrades, repairs, and administrative assistance. WiRED is currently seeking funding to renew and refurbish five Centers, one in Kisumu and four in the Nairobi area of Kenya.
Mama CHIC
by Pauline Karani
I loved the CHIC idea right from conception. I was there when the baby came. I was there through the teething pains (of registration of the project in Kenya). I saw the first step (the initial training of the client support staff). I heard the first words (I think they were "Mama CHIC" – that's what the volunteers called me). I even saw the baby run – the numbers of clients visiting the already set up CHICs growing from hundreds to thousands. I was there when he became a pre-teen – eager and hopeful for a future – full of great new ideas. Sadly, I also saw the pre-teen fall ill with lack of funds and I worried as only a mother does at the bedside of her ill child.
L to R: Peter Oketch, Zippy Wananswa,
Gray Maghanga, Pauline Karani
What did I like most about the WiRED project? I loved it all. The workplace atmosphere was perfect. I loved working with Professor Selnow. He taught me without even knowing it. He inspired, he mentored, and he did it all with dedication and, what I loved the most, a great sense of humor. I recall laughing so hard right in the middle of a very serious discussion. I looked forward to his visits for I knew I would learn something new and I would laugh at something new. I loved my colleagues. They worked so competently they made my managerial work easy. The client support staff at the grassroots level served with dedication and with joy. The Board of Directors was supportive and gave a hand whenever one was needed. The U.S. team was unbelievable. I especially remember Bess Touma who despite the fact that she was thousands of miles away, was always available around the clock. I often felt like she lived right next door. Her efficiency amazed me.
My most memorable moments were visiting the CHICs and hearing about the ways people's lives were changed by the information they received. I was awed by the faces of the little children who were seeing a computer for the very first time. I was often moved to tears by the stories told of how people who had lost hope and had thought they had incurable diseases, got information that gave them a new lease on life, knowing that their disease was indeed curable. The joy in the eyes of such people gave meaning to my work.
WiRED's CHICs project is a program that touches lives, not only those that are served but also those that serve. There are many more lives to touch and many more lives to change with the life-giving information that WIRED makes available. WIRED is still needed in many parts of Kenya.
Other stories describing Kenyans’ experiences using the CHICs are available here.
Editing by Kate Mayer, layout by Brian Colombe.
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