How a Simple Screening is Saving Lives in Rural Kenya
Kids in line waiting to be screened at Kapsowar Primary School
In this part of Kenya, something as simple as a sore throat can become life-threatening.
When strep throat goes untreated, it can lead to Rheumatic Fever—a condition that quietly damages the heart and eventually causes Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD). Over time, repeated infections can lead to heart failure, often in young adults. Here in Kapsowar, we’ve seen far too many people in their 20s and 30s lose their lives to this entirely preventable disease.
That’s why in 2022, we launched a school-based screening program to catch RHD early and stop it in its tracks. Local volunteers, trained and equipped with portable ultrasound machines, visit schools to scan children’s hearts for early signs of damage. If anything looks concerning, the images are reviewed remotely by a cardiologist in the U.S. through telemedicine.
Kids waiting to be screened at Kapsowar Primary School
Our Community Health Director, Shirley, screening a child at Kapsowar Primary for early signs of heart disease with a portable ultrasound machine
We’ve screened over 9,100 children—and found early signs of heart disease in 334 of them. That’s one in 27 kids. In nearly every classroom, there’s a child whose heart needs protection.Most of those children are now receiving monthly penicillin injections—a simple, low-cost treatment that protects their hearts and gives them a chance at a full, healthy life.
This work is led by our Community Health Director, Shirley, whose role—along with the fuel and transport needed to reach schools—was made possible by a generous donor. Because of this support, lives are being changed and futures are being rewritten.
And we’re just getting started. Every time we scan a child’s heart, we’re reminded: this is what hope looks like. Together, we’re changing the story—and stopping RHD before it even begins.
One in 27 kids will have signs of early heart disease due to untreated strep throat, easily prevented with a penicillin shot each month to prevent further damage.