In February I had the privilege of traveling to Liberia. While there I worked on a number of projects with Last Mile Health’s staff on the ground, and in doing so strengthened our long-term communication and solidified some great friendships. But more importantly, I was able to see Last Mile Health’s programmatic work in action.
Working in development requires a robust understanding of how our programs operate on the ground and their impact. It’s the most important information we need to communicate to outside stakeholders. I applied to this fellowship with Last Mile Health because I have a deep appreciation for the work that they do, and because Last Mile Health is a place I’m proud to work at, contribute to, and represent. But no matter how much you appreciate, read about, or discuss that work, it’s just not the same as seeing it in person.
When Last Mile Health says they work in the most remote parts of Liberia, they really mean it. Our programs extend far from the capital, Monrovia, right up to the border with Cote d’Ivoire. The drive from Monrovia to our base of operations in the southeastern town of Zwedru, Grand Gedeh County took a day. The next day we went to our offices deep in the jungle in Konobo, and then on from there out to the rural villages that we serve.
During this trip another LMH employee and I accompanied one of our community health worker supervisors on a number of supervision visits to both gather information on health indicators in the community and also assess the performance of community health workers. Seeing this process in action was so valuable to me in really understanding why this approach works.
When we got to the last village, quite literally on the last mile of the road, I witnessed something that cemented my opinion of why Last Mile Health’s approach works. We were chatting with one of the community health workers as his supervisor was meeting with another member of the community. A group of children came running up to us, one of them in tears and visibly ill. The community health worker proceeded to speak with the child, calm him down, determine the problem, and appropriately treat his condition (verified by the supervisor when he came out later).
The amazing part of this interaction was how much trust the community had in their health worker. Not only did the children know where to go to get help, but no adults were looking over his shoulder distrustfully. One of the biggest reasons for this is that since this work began people who have access to community health workers have simply seen health in their villages improve. But another important factor is that these health workers are not strangers. They grew up and live in the same villages they serve, and are revered by their neighbors and thus trusted to take on this important work.
While I always trusted the word, reports, and proven success of Last Mile Health’s programs I can now say with complete confidence that I have seen them working with my own eyes. I am privileged to have the opportunity to communicate this to others, and hope to return to Liberia soon.