Constable Caroline Makena is a one-of-a-kind Administrative Police (AP) officer, primarily due to her commitment to effect change.
In the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic, and countless calls by President Uhuru Kenyatta for each Kenyan to take up a role in combating the virus, the officer has been making protective face masks and handing them for free from her precinct.
As the only female officer at Tot Police Station, Marakwet East Sub-county, Elgeyo Marakwet county, her daily routine now includes some extra hours.
Once her formal work shift is done, she clocks in at her work station set up within the station where, armed with a sewing machine, an iron box, and rolls of special-purpose material, the officer goes about meticulously manufacturing the life-saving masks.
Once the tailoring is done, she then issues them out for free to bodaboda riders, fellow police officers, reporters coming to the station and any other person in need of them.
Constable Makena has also been going around the community teaching and encouraging women around to make and sell these in-demand masks to earn a living in these trying times.
A paragon of the Utumishi kwa Wote mantra, Constable Makena is also an active community servant when off duty, with a keen interest on matters pertaining to challenges faced by the girlchild in Tot area.
She frequently visits different schools near the station including Tot High school, Tot Primary, Kapkaini and Kapkobil primary schools where she engages with the students and pupils about reproductive health issues.
She has a keen interest in the rising cases of defilement, early marriages, teenage pregnancies, reproduction health and hygiene among teenagers in Elgeyo Marakwet.
The AP officer has endeared herself to the local community, within one of her colleagues revealing that on top of her numerous community-based projects, she also buys female students sanitary towels whenever she can afford it.
According to reports, her efforts have seen a reduction of cases of early marriages and teenage pregnancies in the area and there has also been improved hygiene among the students and pupils.
She joins a growing list of police officers who go out of their way to serve the communities they are stationed in, such as Corporal Sammy Ondimu Ngare who runs the Maxfactor Centre, based in Rongai, Nakuru County, where he takes in underprivileged children (mostly orphans who have lost parents to HIV/Aids) and educates them.
Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke during a past interview, the father of three was beaming with pride when naming the various students and their current achievements so far.
"So far, we have 3 children in the university and 2 more are set to join this year, namely Jevan and Steve who are going to pursue a degree in Medicine and Education respectively. One of our girls is also set to join college later on this year," he revealed.
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