By Stacey Ogle, Board Member, Marketing Committee Chair, MPI
Stacey Ogle & Betsheba Kabongola
As a Board member of Malaria Partners International, I occasionally travel to Africa to meet with local Rotary clubs and our associates. In 2023, I met Bethsheba in her village of Mwalilanda, Central Province, Zambia, and she has become a dear friend. Bethsheba is a single mother of three girls who farms maize to support her family.
In 2022, she was trained as a Volunteer Community Health Worker (CHW) through Partners for a Malaria-Free Zambia and serves as a health resource for about 500 neighbors, diagnosing respiratory diseases and malaria. We keep in touch through WhatsApp, sharing family updates and supporting each other.
Bethsheba told me about a local man who urgently sought her help for his wife, Emeldah, who was critically ill. Upon arriving, Bethsheba found Emeldah, a 37-year-old mother of two, suffering from fever, cramping, and vomiting; she was listless and unable to eat or walk. A Rapid Diagnostic Test confirmed she was positive for malaria. Bethsheba provided treatment and care instructions and tested her family and neighbors.
Within two days, Emeldah showed up at Bethsheba’s home with a live chicken as thanks. She shared, “I saw the grave! I was afraid to die and leave my young sons alone.” Today, Emeldah is healthy and expecting her third child.
Bethsheba has lost family members and neighbors to malaria. She says, “I want to help my community because malaria is a deadly disease.” She’s passionate, generous, and works hard. I am committed to supporting her and CHWs like her, who save the lives of those without accessible healthcare.