1.0World Vision Advocacyhttps://www.worldvisionadvocacy.orgKatie Taylorhttps://www.worldvisionadvocacy.org/author/kataylor/rich600338<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="KMbtU7Jcdu"><a href="https://www.worldvisionadvocacy.org/2020/04/03/march-advocacy-update-marching-on-for-kids/uganda-village-health-worker-john-atiku-2/">Uganda Village Health Worker – John Atiku</a></blockquote><iframe sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" src="https://www.worldvisionadvocacy.org/2020/04/03/march-advocacy-update-marching-on-for-kids/uganda-village-health-worker-john-atiku-2/embed/#?secret=KMbtU7Jcdu" width="600" height="338" title="“Uganda Village Health Worker – John Atiku” — World Vision Advocacy" data-secret="KMbtU7Jcdu" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" class="wp-embedded-content"></iframe><script type="text/javascript"> /* <![CDATA[ */ /*! This file is auto-generated */ !function(d,l){"use strict";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&"undefined"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!/[^a-zA-Z0-9]/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),c=new RegExp("^https?:$","i"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display="none";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute("style"),"height"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):"link"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute("src")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener("message",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll("iframe.wp-embedded-content"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute("data-secret"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+="#?secret="+t,e.setAttribute("data-secret",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:"ready",secret:t},"*")},!1)))}(window,document); /* ]]> */ </script> https://live-advocacy.d2.worldvision.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/D395-0904-283_Low_res_comp.jpg800534Students receive immunizations during a health session at Kapaapi Primary School, Hoima Uganda, led by World Vision-trained village health worker John Atiku, 53 (in yellowish World Vision lab coat). By day, 53-year-old John Atiku is in the classroom teaching students reading, writing, and arithmetic. John is a teacher near Hoima, in Western Uganda. He loves his job. A father, he understands the importance of education. He knows the future lies in the hands of children. But John has another profession as well. For the last 15 years, he has served his community as a VHT—part of Uganda’s village health team system. Village health team members, called VHTs, are community health workers that serve as the front line of health care for the people of Uganda, most whom live in rural community and may not have access to healthcare. John gives them access. John was an early VHT. In 2000, the government of Uganda introduced the system to help take care of families who were beyond the reach of health clinics. Each village has two VHTs who receive a small amount of training from the government. Their jobs are strictly volunteer. To bolster the system, World Vision has begun training VHTs to recognize diseases such as malaria, pneumonia, and diarrhea—the three big killers of children in Uganda. World Vision provides rapid test kits for malaria and medicine for common illnesses. In some places in Uganda, World Vision pioneered a radio program to teach VHTs the skills they needed for success. In addition, World Vision has supplied bicycles for travel, rubber boots for the rainy season, bags to carry supplies and notebooks, and shirts to be identified as VHT. The community calls people such as John Atiku their doctors. John Atiku is revered by his community as a teacher and through his work as a VHT. Not only is he bringing up a new generated of educated children, he’s making sure they grow up healthy and strong.