For people living in the more remote corners of our area of operation, poor infrastructure, lack of access to basic healthcare, and general poverty means preventable illnesses often go untreated.

But Hannah Tumuti is making a difference. Her calm demeanor masks a fierce determination to improve people’s lives. Hannah leads the family planning and antenatal clinic at the government-run hospital bordering Big Life’s HQ. She also leads Big Life’s backpack nurse program.

Like all hospitals, people must visit them to receive help. Big Life’s backpack nurses flip the script, bringing healthcare to people by venturing out to remote villages with just a motorbike and a backpack filled with basic medical equipment.

“We are seeing a lot of change” says Hannah, “When we visit these villages, we sometimes see over a hundred people who come for vaccinations, minor illnesses, but most of all, for pregnancy and childbirth issues. Our days are long, and we return home late and tired, but these outreaches are rewarding because we know we have helped many desperately needy people.”

This program has been supported by our long-term partners CHASE Africa since its inception in 2018, and the number of backpack nurses has steadily grown to 22. Each nurse sees an average of 70 patients per outreach. Big Life conducts 42 nurse outreaches per month. That’s an average of 35,280 lives improved every year, an enormous accomplishment for 22 women.

“I’m very proud to be a woman and a mother, so I care deeply about helping women and children, especially here [in the Greater Amboseli Ecosystem], where they face so many challenges. So I am proud we to have saved thousands of people’s lives thanks to the backpack program. We need to empower women because if they are empowered, the whole community will be empowered.”

Hannah’s final comment strikes at the heart of what we stand for at Big Life. Immunizations and condoms may not seem like they have much in common with protecting wildlife, but if the general population is in poor health, the last thing they would care about is the wellbeing of elephants or lions.

If conservation supports people, then people will support conservation.

Learn more about our Heathcare Program. 

📷: Joshua Clay