Supply chains are in many ways the backbone of economic development and security around the world. Ensuring that the transporters who keep them running are healthy, safe, and have access to the proper infrastructure and technology is, therefore, of tremendous importance. Without each of these critical factors in place, businesses can’t move their goods to…
Sustainability is word that is often thrown around in the non-profit sector. In fact, we get asked about the sustainability of our Roadside Wellness Centres quite often. Since mobile workers, like truck drivers, are constantly on the move, it can be challenging to incorporate income generating activities to help offset the cost of some of…
Late yesterday afternoon a powerful thing happened in Maai Mahiu, Kenya. I was at a meeting that brought together eight local women and a team from Holland, led by an unusually outspoken woman named, Marieke, who manages sex work projects at SOAIDS. The visit to the Roadside Wellness Centre was originally to give the team…
This photo was taken on the fly while travelling the busy Mombasa highway between Machakos Junction and Nairobi (Kenya). This is the main corridor for trucks carrying goods between Mombasa and Kampala (Uganda) and you can tell that the drivers are in it for the long haul. Staying safe on this road requires skilled driving,…
“Meet people on the move across Africa and provide them with basic health care”. While North Star’s mission seems simple, by many, it can be seen as a nearly impossible challenge. The latest numbers coming in from our electronic health passport system, COMETS, however, are showing the success. Because of this success, we’re preparing to…
This photo was taken during the road show at the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MiBuZa) in September 2011 and shows TNT/North Star Alliance Project Manager Rosanne Bonanno explaining the mission of North Star to visitors. To date, the road show has travelled to five countries – Belgium, France, Italy, The Netherlands and Switzerland –…
The following post was written by Gerard Steehouder, a Technical Project Leader for TNT Express, and voluntary COMETS Implementation Manager for North Star Alliance. I’m Gerard Steehouder, 50 years of age, and working for TNT Express Benelux as a Technical Project Leader within the ICS department in Houten, running diverse IT-related projects. Implementing and training…
Health Care that Moves Imagine being ‘at work’, 24 hours a day, 26 days each month. While this thought would bring even the most enthusiastic workaholics to their knees, this is, in fact, a reality for truck drivers and transport workers across Africa and around the world. Couple this reality with limited access to health…
If you want to go fast go alone; if you want to go far, go together. This African proverb implores us to unite and stick together to reach a goal, in this case, extending basic health care to people on the move. There isn’t anything groundbreaking about providing health services from a shipping container. Certainly…
Malawi was the place where the first Wellness Centre was implemented in 2005. Now in 2011, the Centre is still up and running with some of the most experienced staff in the organization and I am proud of them because they understand the meaning of their work: they are the ones who change hundreds of lives, of truck drivers, and sex workers…and those of the many other “target group” members that benefits from our services.
