COVID-19 Call to Action: Support Struggling Mothers and Children

A story is told by Ira Byock, an authority on palliative medicine, in his book The Best Care Possible: A Physician's Quest to Transform Care Through the End of Life (Avery, 2012).

It goes like this:

"Someone once asked anthropologist Margaret Mead what she considered to be the first evidence of civilization. She answered: a human thigh bone with a healed fracture found in an archaeological site 15,000 years old. Why not tools for hunting or religious artifacts or primitive forms of communal self-governance?

Mead points out that for a person to survive a broken femur the individual had to have been cared for long enough for that bone to heal. Others must have provided shelter, protection, food, and drink over an extended period of time for this kind of healing to be possible.

The great anthropologist Margaret Mead suggests that the first indication of human civilization is care over time for one who is broken and in need, evidenced through a fractured thigh bone that was healed".

We need to look out for other parents struggling during this pandemic. Single mothers living in under-serviced neighborhoods are disproportionately affected by this crisis. If you'd love to help but don't know how, Kasha has solutions.

Kasha is a social enterprise that seeks to give women access to a greater variety of more convenient, affordable, and trusted options for their health and wellness needs.

They're on a mission to support vulnerable families during these surreal times and you can join in on the good cause to support struggling mothers and kids.

Jade Oyateru, Senior Marketing Manager, says, "We are taking this pause as an opportunity to support families who may not have the financial ability to get the essential products that they need to keep safe and healthy. Together with our community of customers, we will provide basic hygiene kits that families need at this time.

Our customers can choose to donate an essential kit to a family they know is in need and Kasha will make the delivery on their behalf or customers can choose to donate to a low-income family that Kasha has identified through our Kasha Agent network."

The essential kits include soaps, hand sanitizers, sanitary pads, face masks, and other vital items.

Here's what Kasha is doing to help communities and how you can join in:

Kasha has launched a nurse-supported community forum, www.kashacommunity.com, to provide information on contraceptives. During this time of social distancing and with the difficulty of accessing clinics, we want to ensure women have access to information so that they can continue to make informed decisions with regards to their sexual and reproductive health.

Kasha has partnered with Unilever to give free Lifebuoy soap with every order purchased through its website and USSD platforms while stocks last.

They continue to deliver orders across the country through their website at kasha.co.ke/ and through our USSD platform *308#. You may order essentials for a family in need using the code.