No Child Left Behind: How Community Outreach Helped Dina Access Life-Saving Vaccines

Through community outreach and the dedication of the Community-Based Volunteers (CVBs), Sport In Action continues to work with communities to ensure that vulnerable children are identified and supported so they can access the healthcare services they need. Dina’s journey is a powerful reminder that with community support and coordinated action, no child should be left behind.

In the quiet community of Kwanza in Kaya Village, Itezhi-Tezhi District, four-year-old Dina’s early life was shaped by a series of heartbreaking events that disrupted not only her family life but also her access to essential healthcare.

Born in 2021, Dina entered the world while her parents were still together and hopeful about their future. But when she was just one year and five months old, her parents separated and eventually divorced, marking the beginning of instability in her young life.

At first, Dina remained with her mother. Later, her father took her into his care in the hope of raising her himself. Sadly, tragedy struck again when her father passed away, leaving Dina without a stable guardian once more. She was returned to her mother, but this reunion was short-lived. At just three years old, Dina lost her mother as well.

Suddenly orphaned, Dina was taken in by her grandmother, 72-year-old Mary Mutembo, who became her sole caregiver.

Amid these repeated transitions and losses, Dina missed several important childhood vaccinations. Each change in caregiver disrupted the continuity of her healthcare, and no one was able to follow through with her routine immunization schedule.

Her situation came to light during a routine door-to-door outreach conducted by Community-Based Volunteers supported through Sport In Action’s community health programming, which works to strengthen community systems and improve access to essential health services for children and families in rural communities.

During the visit, the volunteers identified Dina as a child who had not completed her vaccination schedule. At the time, she was already four years and ten months old.

When the volunteers engaged her grandmother, she explained the challenges she faced. Due to her advanced age, traveling to the health facility for under-five services was physically difficult.

“I was always worried because I could not manage to take Dina to the clinic,” said Mary Mutembo. “When the volunteers came to our home and helped us, I felt relieved knowing she could finally receive the vaccinations she needed.”

Recognizing the urgency of the situation, the Community-Based Volunteers provided health education and worked closely with her grandmother to find a solution. They coordinated with community health workers to facilitate access to immunization services so that Dina could begin receiving her catch-up vaccinations.

Through this collective effort, Dina has now successfully started receiving the life-saving immunizations she had previously missed.

Dina’s story highlights an important but often overlooked reality. When families experience divorce, death, or other major disruptions, discussions tend to focus on food, clothing, and education, while a child’s health may unintentionally be overlooked.