Day: June 15, 2023

Busia County coordinator of blood transfusion services Anne Kiragu has asked the local residents to embrace the culture of blood donation with a view to save lives.

Addressing the press during the celebrations to mark the World blood donation day at Busia Polytechnic ground on Wednesday, Ms Kiragu noted that the community has not understood the need to donate blood.

‘We have been relying on schools and other learning institutions to provide blood,’ she said, adding that there was a need to sensitize the community to participate in the exercise.

Ms Kiragu explained that the blood is required in assisting cases of sickle cell and malaria patients which are rampant in the County.

‘There are also cases of accidents, especially boda boda riders which also require blood,’ she said.

She explained that blood donation is very healthy because it makes the bone marrow of the donors’ work better adding that it also reduces one’s chances of getting cancer disease.

‘Blood donation also helps one to know his/her status because we carry out tests,’ she said, adding that the process helps the donors to know their health status early.

The officer refuted allegations that blood is sold to patients, explaining that the organisation issues blood free of charge.

She at the same time dismissed myths by a section of residents that blood donated is used for devil worship.

The Busia blood satellite manager Nkule Samuel said that they have enough blood in the county currently with patients who are in the hospital being beneficiaries of the blood.

”If you come to our hospital, Busia county referral hospital, we have patients who are going for surgery and they all need the blood,’ he said.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Huduma centers have been praised for offering credible services that have suppressed corruption in the country.

Speaking during the celebrations to mark 10 years since the inception of Huduma centers in the country, Narok county commissioner Isaac Masinde said citizens are served faster, without being asked to pay any bribe for the services they get.

‘The Huduma centers have helped to build more trust among the civil service. They act as a one stop shop where people walk in and get all the government services under one roof,’ he said.

Commissioner Masinde asked the public servants to have a heart of service and serve the residents with passion without minding their backgrounds so as to develop the nation.

‘Please remember you are the servants of the people. Give services without discrimination and reflect the picture of the government by championing the government policies,’ he said.

The commissioner asked the civil servants attached to the Huduma Center to lead by example by holding tree planting forums where they will sensitize the residents on the importance of planting trees.

Gatobu Kirera, a member of the Huduma Kenya Secretariat said there is a strong partnership between the county and national government to deliver services at the Huduma center.

‘When a person enters the Huduma Center premises, he or she must be served with the services they need, whether the services are offered by the National government or County government it does not matter,’ he said.

He added they are looking for financial support to devolve their services to the villages so as to serve many people who cannot afford to travel to town.

Narok County Government Chief Officer in charge of Public Service Paul Karpuelo reiterated that the county government will continue supporting the Huduma Center so that people can get all services at one stop.

Karpuelo praised the Huduma centers saying they are more efficient than the traditional way of moving from one office to another to be served.

The Narok Huduma centre Manager Naserian Katampoi said there are 53 Huduma Centers spread across the country which have helped improve service delivery to the people.

She underscored the need to look back and see the far they have come and reflect on the ideals of the formation as an opportunity to look further so as to revolutionize the public service.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Farmers in Ndumberi, Kiambu County are up in arms over a monkey invasion that has led to loss of food crops in their farms.

According to the residents, the monkeys have not only invaded their farms but also their human settlements. The locals stated that the monkeys have for the last two week been terrorizing them by destroying their maize, fruits and pawpaw crops

‘These monkeys are harvesting our immature maize corn which are 1 month to 2 months old and not yet ready for harvesting,’ Kimani Chirangu Kayai, a 55-year-old farmer living in the area told KNA.

He explained that farmers now have no option but to cut down the remains of the maize crops and feed to their cows.

The damage being caused by the monkeys, according to Chirangu, will see the area lose their harvest for the coming season. ‘Some of us will go hungry if this continues since the monkeys come very early in the morning and also in the evening,’ said Chriangu.

Chirangu said the area residents are asking the Kenya Wildlife Services to come to their rescue since they do not even know where the monkeys are emanating from.

‘We want KWS to return the monkeys to their natural habitat in the forests. More of them are coming from we don’t know where and not giving us peace especially at night as they keep on roaming and moving from roof to roof’,’ he said noting that their efforts to chase them away has been fruitless

‘I have an acre of land where I have planted fruits and sunflowers, if the monkey invasion continues, I will lose all the fruits on the farm,’ Chirangu said.

He asked KWS to come up with the best strategy of getting rid of the monkeys once and for all especially now that they are growing in number day by day.

Martha Thenya, an 80 year old woman also expressed concern of the monkey invasion in her only piece of land saying she had planted thee bags of maize seedlings in her farm and had bought several fertilizer bags to enhance her farm produce but it seems all will have gone to waste.

‘I have lived here many years and has never seen this. I have been forced now to buy catapults so that when I see the monkeys coming to my farm, I use it on them although the law does not allow us kill the wild animals,’ she said,

Speaking to KNA the Kenya Wildlife Service Warden in Ol Donyo Sabuk and who covers Kiambu area, Henry Kirinyet said that plans are being put in place to trap and capture the monkeys.

He noted that they will make sure the monkeys are cornered in order to contain the situation so that wildlife and humans are able to co-exist. ‘As KWS, we want to encourage Ndumberi farmers to use well secured bins that are monkey-proof and will not attract the monkeys,’ Kirinyet said.

He asked the residents to fasten their dustbin lids and also use flexible straps or bungee cord as well as ensure no food waste is left lying around homesteads since this will attract the monkeys.

According to experts, monkeys can also be kept away by using monkey traps and growing scented and therapeutic herbs and medicinal plants such as aloe vera which the monkeys dislike and do not consume.

Source: Kenya News Agency