At 72, Papa Télé is putting in the work to ensure that every child is vaccinated

For more than 15 years Télésphore has been a community outreach worker in Kalemie, a town in the south-east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).  Twice a week, Papa Télé, as he is called by his friends, walks the town's neighbourhoods to identify children who have not been vaccinated.  With his cowboy hat on his head, Papa Télé never goes unnoticed. "He is incredible," explains Gisèle Mume, a nurse at the health centre with which this community outreach worker works. Despite his age, Papa Télé covers tens of kilometers on foot to reach the most remote families.

Every Tuesday and Thursday, Papa Télé gets up at dawn to encourage parents to go to the health centre to vaccinate their children.  When he finds an unvaccinated child, he explains the importance of vaccination to the parents and accompanies them to the health centre. "He is one of the most effective community outreach workers," explains Gisèle Mume "We have welcomed around 120 mothers and he has referred more than half of the children we have vaccinated," continues the nurse. Vaccination, along with the use of drinking water, is one of the best ways to protect the life and health of children.

Today, Papa Télé is meeting Angélique Mayeka, a mother pregnant with her sixth child. "I have known her for 10 years and it is me who, after each birth, takes her to the health centre to have the children vaccinated," the community outreach worker explains proudly.

Papa Télé not only talks to people about vaccination, but he also supports the families in their daily lives. When he meets pregnant women like Angélique, he advises them to attend prenatal check-ups and to give birth at the health centre. "I love my community and I love what I do," says Papa Télé, who wants to see all children in his community grow up healthy. Thanks to the involvement of community outreach workers like Papa Télé, more than 2.5 million children were vaccinated throughout the DRC last year with UNICEF's support.

"I have 10 children, 56 grandchildren and 7 great grandchildren and I have personally taken them all to the health centre for vaccination," Papa Télé tells us proudly, but he knows that there are still many unvaccinated children in the country.