SMEF has started funding a local course for training up Health Assistants. This course had existed before the pandemic but their funding dried up. It is a three month course with the aim of the students learning basic health skills, such as taking people’s blood pressure and temperature. While it is open to everyone, it was designed bearing in mind those who have not been able to complete their secondary education, aiming to give them some practical skills which will be useful for their communities and potentially lead to employment. This first course is being held in Santa Maria itself, and the second time round we will hold it in an outlying village to make it more accessible to those from the surrounding rural areas.
