Community Health Worker, Ravindra Thakoordeen

Nov 14, 2021 News

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“Any vaccination that is needed to be done around the region like at Orealla/Siparuta and all the riverain areas we cover, so I am always open minded and free to go anywhere because we work as a team.”

Our Frontline Worker of the Week is…

By Malisa Playter-Harry

Kaieteur News – As COVID-19 continues to take an unprecedented toll on the world, we are reminded daily of the efforts of medical frontline workers who work around the clock, sacrificing family time, exposing themselves to the risks, et al, just to play their part in the fight against the virus.

Whether it was the job of testing and monitoring when the pandemic first hit Guyana, or the hard-work and dedication put in to ensure that persons are vaccinated, frontline workers in the health care system have persevered and gone beyond the call of duty.
For 26-year-old Ravindra Thakoordeen of No.66 Village, Corentyne, Berbice, a Community Health Worker on the vaccination team in Region Six, his job is as important as one can expect it to be. According to Thakoordeen, he drew inspiration from his family which has been supportive during the years.
Fresh off of writing the Caribbean Secondary School Entrance Examination (CSEC) at the Tagore Memorial Secondary School in 2012 and gaining a number of subjects, Tharkoordeen revealed that “I always wanted to go into the health sector because I was inspired by my family. My sister was an administrator at the Skeldon Hospital and my brother is a surgeon at the New Amsterdam Hospital.”
He mentioned that upon his completion of secondary school, he ventured off into training at the Skeldon Hospital and then moved onto the No. 64 Health Centre. In October 2012 he also did training at the West Demerara Hospital for a period of eight months. During his training, he gained extensive knowledge in the vaccination process, anatomy, physiology and more. Following that training stint, he was placed at the No. 64 Health Centre in 2013 and has served in the capacity as a Community Health Worker (CHW) since then.
Given that the health care worker grew up just two villages away from where he works, he said he has always felt pleased with the fact that he is able to serve his community and that he has done so without complaints.

“Serving my community has been a joy for me,” said Thakoordeen who has developed a relationship with residents of the communities who access the No.64 Health Centre. He mentioned too that he does regular home visits for persons who cannot make it to the health centre and those home visits would see him vaccinating children and others.
However, since the pandemic hit, his job as a CHW now entails him ensuring that the COVID-19 vaccine is administered as he plays his part in helping the nation to achieve herd immunity in the future. He added that his work is done in conjunction with other team members. This he said makes the work less stressful and easier to execute.
“Any vaccination that is needed to be done around the region like at Orealla/Siparuta and all the riverain areas, we cover, so I am always open minded and free to go anywhere because we work as a team,” Thakoordeen added.
He noted that when Guyana, and Berbice particular, recorded its first COVID-19 case, his immediate thought was about the need to help. Thakoordeen said “I wanted to be there for my region and help to combat this virus.” For him, he knew that his skills attained through the past trainings and his years of experience would have been a necessity during this period, and indeed it was. He officially started with the COVID-19 vaccination team upon the arrival of the first set of vaccines procured by the Ministry of Health, and he also participated in a three-day training exercise that saw CHWs and other medical staff being trained for the successful roll out of the vaccination campaign.
As a vaccinator, Thakoordeen said he has been administering vaccines to not only his catchment area but “anywhere in the region they call us to go we will go.” He noted that during the execution of his duties, some concerns did fill his thoughts at some point about being exposed and eventually exposing his family to the virus but because he made sure that he was well equipped with the necessary PPE, those moments of worry flew by. He noted that despite the long hours and extended period of being away from his family, “we work because we are trying to get over this pandemic.”
Thakoordeen is advising persons who have not been vaccinated, to do so since vaccines are readily available to them. He added that getting vaccinated saves lives and as such, he is encouraging persons to make the sound decision to get vaccinated.

 

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