SCPI was originally set up with the input and support of the elders and villagers in the Maasai community of Olorte (through their local charity, Walking with Maasai), one of Kenya’s most remote regions on the Tanzanian border.
Walking with Maasai is a charity based in Olorte. It has helped support the Maasai people to continue living in harmony with the environment without fundamentally changing their culture for over seven years.
Through the relationships built with the community, a clear need has been highlighted for a mobile clinic to provide basic healthcare treatment and education as well as an immunisation program to a population of 6,000 people spread over 15 villages. The increasingly sedentary lifestyle of the Maasai has resulted in an escalation in sanitation-related and water-borne diseases, infant and childhood diseases, and HIV/AIDS.
Established healthcare facilities fail to reach the most remote regions and many villagers have to walk for a whole day to reach an existing clinic. This means that they only seek help in crises and there is no capacity to provide long-term health management or maternity care. Sadly, there are cases where patients do not receive adequate treatment in time.
The fact that there are no baseline data or records on the Maasai health status in southern Kenya adds another dimension to the public health challenge.