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by James Mwangi, Client Support Staff
Nakuru Community Health Information Center
Wednesday morning, twelve uniformed teenage girls entered our centre, along with a gentleman who introduced himself as one of the administration officials of the Nakuru Probation and Rehabilitation Girls Centre. After we welcomed them, their teacher mentioned to us that he learnt about the site from one of his colleagues. We then took them through a quick outline of the services offered at our centre. They were pleased to learn about our range of services and were very much interested in accessing the information from the CHIC.
The girls were then grouped in threes and each group sat in front of a computer. Since not all of the girls could understand English, each group was assisted by a client support staff member who would help the girls understand the material. The groups went through one CD regarding HIV/AIDS all at the same time since the computer network was able to facilitate this continuity. An additional advantage was that the girls were able to become more familiar with the use of the computers and were able to navigate the information.
The images astonished most of the girls. This was evident by their expression of shock upon realizing the extent of the disease and ensuing infection. They asked questions and discussed issues on HIV/AIDS.
The following day their teacher brought another group of twelve girls. They were even more curious because the previous group had told them what to expect. Five of them requested VCT services. On a third visit with a different group of girls, the teacher brought forward one student and confided in one of our client support staff members that she had a STD. The teacher asked for advice; and, one of our female client support staff took the girl to the Family Planning Association of Kenya, Nakuru, for treatment. There, the girl was treated for STD and brought back. She also requested VCT services.
The girls came to our centre for three consecutive days. Our observation about all of the girls was that they had a special need for information about health. According to their teacher, each of them had committed an offence or crime ranging from abortion to murder to stealing to running away from school to many others. Their sentences consist of spending six months to one year in the rehabilitation centre where they are offered recreational courses.
It was evident to us that these girls are sexually active. The information they obtained from the CHIC was helpful, and we could tell from their conversations that they were going to change their behaviour.
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