CREDIT – UNICEF, DRC. Rajabu Vampise deftly manoeuvres his wheelchair through the backstreets of Kindu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) as he goes about his day. Despite the challenges he has faced, the 27-year-old is a model of resilience and an inspiration to his community.
Rajabu considers his childhood as a source of sadness but also inspiration. Born healthy, his life was turned upside down at the age of 2 when he contracted polio. His parents, who were ill-informed at the time, thought that vaccination was dangerous.
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“If I had been vaccinated, I wouldn’t be in this situation,” Rajabu says.
His mother, Sifa Asani Mwamini, regrets the consequences of this decision.
“We were told that vaccines caused illness and even death,” she recalls. “Today, I understand just how essential they are.”
Despite his ordeals, Rajabu has always shown resilience. Supported by his mother, he overcame teasing at school and distinguished himself academically. Rajabu is now a law graduate with a clear mission: to defend the rights of people living with disabilities.
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Trained by UNICEF as a community outreach worker, Rajabu raises awareness among families in his community of the dangers of polio and the benefits of vaccination.
“I’m a mobiliser and vaccinator,” he explains. “My aim is to raise parents’ awareness so that what happened to me doesn’t happen to other children.”
At each meeting, he reminds parents that vaccines are safe and help children grow up healthy.
“Vaccination is a matter of protection and love for children,” Rajabu says.
In 2022, the DRC had the largest variant poliovirus outbreak in Africa with over 500 children suffering from paralytic polio. Since then, the country has made significant progress with 22 variant poliovirus cases reported to date in 2024. However the danger of new outbreaks remain high due to serious under-immunization.
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In 2024, several vaccination campaigns were conducted across the country thanks to support from UNICEF, WHO, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), the Government of Canada, Rotary and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.
The final campaign of 2024 is planned for 5 to 7 December, and thousands of community engagement workers like Rajabu will be out encouraging families to vaccinate their children. Rise News Uganda Network has shared this story to promote awareness in the fight and against polio, and supporting media coverage of polio and health topics in Africa.
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