Health workers demonstrate emergency response techniques at Kapkuikui Dispensary in Baringo South. [Kipsang Joseph, Standard]
The voices of elderly Endorois women rose softly into the dry afternoon wind outside the newly opened maternity unit at Kapkuikui Dispensary in Baringo South.
Dressed in bright traditional regalia, they swayed and danced under the scorching sun as young mothers clapped nearby and children watched curiously from the edge of the gathering. Their song drifted across the rocky hills in celebration.
But beneath the joy lay memories of years of hardship, women forced to travel long, dangerous distances while in labour, delayed referrals and countless births taking place far from skilled medical care.
For the first time in 13 years, mothers in this corner of Baringo will no longer have to make exhausting journeys to Marigat or Kabarnet in search of maternity services.
