Stressor

Poverty is the lack of necessities required for human survival and welfare. Despite positive development, poverty in Kenya continued to be a huge problem. Half of the population in Kenya earns less than $1 US money each day. In 1992 half of all rural Kenyans were living below the poverty line. There are several factors contributing to the ongoing problems of poverty in Kenya. Some of these problems are; limited economic diversity, lack of opportunity, government corruption, and unfair walls by rich countries. The children’s of Kenya that lives in the rural areas has a 46% poverty level compared to 11% in the urban areas. One out of ten children that live in Kenya lives in poverty. When a child in Kenya grows up in poverty they are exposed to illness, they do not do well in school, and they have many health problems. A hand washing campaign was launched at the schools in Kenya; children were taught the best method of washing hands with water and soap and encourage them to share the information with families and friends.

By being an African American I have experienced some type of stressor in my life. Racism is very much alive. I can remember my family and I went into this restaurant and we were treated very nasty. We were the only people of color in the restaurant. We were the lasted to be seated and when our food final arrived it was very cold. There were people who came in after we did, they had eaten and were leaving and we still had not gotten our food. When asked if we could get some hot food, the waiter told us that the cook was gone for the night. We refused to pay for cold food, so we left and as we were leaving, that same waiter was bringing out food and we could see steam coming from the food. She just smiled at us. I know that this country has come a long way, but racism will never completely go away. There are so many different people in our country that society is riddled with so much hatred against people who beliefs and color is not the same. It is very sad that people’s can hate people for no apparent reasons. We as a society need to stop judging people before knowing who they really are. Racism can scar children for life. They have been showed how to hate or have lived in a family full of people who hates others. Infants as young as 6 months old recognize racial cues, even before they develop language skills (Burnette, 1997). It is very difficult for a small child to handle these types of situation. As parents it is our responsibility to teach our children what is right and what is wrong.

Reference:

Burnette, Erin. (1997), June). Talking openly about racism in children. APA Monitor, p.33.

Child Development and Public Health

Immunization is said to have had “a greater impact on human mortality reduction and population growth than any other public health intervention besides clean water” (J.P. Baker, 2000). Immunization is a shot given to protect children from diseases. I believe that child immunization is important for the child’s safety. Children who have not been immunized are at risk of getting sick. The whole concept of immunization is to give the body a specific vaccination in order to keep the child’s body healthy. This topic is very meaningful to me because many children’s are dying daily because they have not been properly immunized. Parents should be made aware of the different immunization shots that a child need. There are many diseases and many kinds of vaccinations that a child must have in order to remain in perfect health. It is the responsibility of the parents, to see that these vaccinations are given to their children.

Not all children of Kenya have had the benefit of being vaccinated, but there is an urgent need to help these children n survive. The reason why is because one-fifth of the children in Kenya, who start the vaccination shot never complete them. Many children in the country of Kenya are at risks of contacting measles. The children of Kenya need their first dose of the measles vaccine before their first birthday. In the capital city of Nairobi, 16 children have died of measles since April of 2006. The hospital has receives about 250 cases of measles every week. Without proper food, water, immunization, and living conditions in Kenya, about 10 percent of the children will die before reaching the age of 5. In Kenya there is an organization called The Kenya Expanded Programmed on Immunization (KEPI). It was established to help prevent diseases among children.

I do not know how learning about immunization could impact my future work. The only thing that I could do is try to educate my parents on the importance of immunization. Children who are healthy will do far better in school, than children who are not healthy. All parents should make sure their children are vaccinated on schedule in order to keep them from getting ill.

Reference:

Baker, Jeffery P. (2000). Immunization and the American way: 4 childhood vaccines. American

     Journal of Public Health, 90, 199-207.

Personal Birthing Experiences

I have never experience childbirth because I do not have any children. The only thing that I know about childbirth is what I have seen on TV or what I have read in a book. After what I saw I don’t think I want to be there in person. Childbirth is sometimes called labor is the period of birth of one or more infants from a women uterus. I believe that childbirth can be very hard and painful. My thoughts regarding childbirth are that it should be planned and wanted. By during so women should take all the necessary precaution in order to have a healthy baby.

Kenya is located in Africa, on the East, just below Somalia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean. Kenya’s capital city, Nairobi, located in the south-central part of the country. When children’s are born in Kenya it is more of a traditional ritual. The women are given a special food to help give them strength, in order to have their babies. The husband lives in a separate house and cannot come near the wife until the child is big enough to take a bowl of porridge to the husband. This will not allow the couple to have another child until the baby is big enough. Before the baby is born the mother is given a special herbs, these herbs are meant to help the woman give birth in a shorter time frame. The women mother-in-law will move in to help for about two weeks. The mother is not supposed to work at all. In Kenya, only 46% of deliveries in the country are done by skilled doctors and nurses. Poor women are seven time more likely to give birth at home than the rich, with little or no post-natal care. Kenya has one of the highest deaths of women during childbirth, 21 women daily from childbirth complications. More than 4 millions babies are born in the United States each year. The childbirth in the United States are s little different than childbirth in Kenya. In both places the mothers are given medication to help ease their pain. The current death rate in the United States is 7 per 1000. In the United States most births occur in hospital, with doctors attending.

I have gained a great deal of knowledge about the birthing of babies in the Unites States and in Kenya. I have told by many mothers that giving birth is the most precious moment a mother can have. I have learned how giving birth in one part of the world can be very different in another part of the world.