Mme Lappe Dorantine. Photo source: USAID
Community Drug Distributor (CDD), Village of Dissat of Edea District
Mme Lappe Dorantine is from the village of Dissat of Edea district. She has been a community drug distributor for her village for 12 years, serving as a volunteer to distribute drugs to prevent debilitating, blinding, and disfiguring diseases, such as river blindness, elephantiasis, snail fever, and intestinal worms. These diseases have plagued the district of Edea for years, but can be eliminated and controlled thanks to the generous support from USAID, enabling the delivery of preventative drugs to all at-risk communities. Her work is difficult and time-consuming. It involves taking a census of everyone in her village, documenting their information, and distributing drugs to all who are eligible. After the distribution is completed, Mme Dorantine must calculate all of the treatment data and submit her report to the Ngonga health center. While this work can take many days and nights to complete, she does not mind –and she always works with a smile because she knows that she is bringing better health and a brighter future to her community.