Pouline is 42 and lives with her 20-year-old twins in Mawonwe in Mpigi district. Pouline has been a Community Health Worker (CHW) for one year. As she recently told us, “I always wanted to be a nurse or health practitioner, but never had money for the studies, so when this opportunity came about, I jumped at it.  Before, my income was never enough. So the extra income I get as a CHW of about $60 per month is very important.  I can now afford school fees, rent and food.  My job as a Living Goods CHW has helped me and my family so much.”

Pouline is a model CHW. She finds time every day to visit clients in her community. “Every day, I spend about two hours in the community, going door to door, checking on people, looking out for any sickness… Depending on the individual’s needs, I will provide health education or products such as ACTs, deworming treatment, soap, and fortified foods. People in the community know that if they buy the products from Living Goods they are cheaper. Many clients come to my home for advice and products.”

Pouline sees many economic benefits of Living Goods to her neighbors. “I save people money on their health care. Not only are the products I sell cheaper, but the fact that they have access to affordable health products means that they can treat the illness early on, whereas before they often left it too late and ended up in hospital, which is very expensive.“

As we hear from many CHWs, the respect these women receive in the community is often times as important as the income they earn. As Pouline told us, “I enjoy the health work very much.  It makes me very happy that I am able to nurse my own family, friends and neighbors. There was one family in particular who used to have a lot of health problems. The mother used to have a child every year. Her kids were malnourished and always sick. She fed them poorly and gave them to dirty water to drink. All her money was spent on treating her sick kids.  I spent a lot of time educating her on health issues. She now uses family planning and feeds her children fortified foods. Her children’s health is much better. Even her neighbors have noticed the difference, so they now come to me for advice. It gives me great respect in the community and it makes me so proud when I see the impact I have on my community.”