“Spoon in Mouth?” Teachers Confront Epilepsy Myths — Featured in The Star Kenya

📖✨ NeuroReach Africa is in The Star Kenya!

“Spoon in mouth? Teachers confront epilepsy myths” — today's paper (Wednesday, 16th September 2026) tells the story of our week-long school outreach across 54 primary schools in Kikuyu subcounty, reaching 54,099 pupils.

The survey revealed a dangerous gap: nearly every teacher polled believed a spoon should be placed in a child's mouth during a seizure — a practice that can break teeth, injure the jaw and block the airway. But in school after school, teachers were honest with us: they had never been shown what to do. Once we walked them through the four steps — Stay. Safe. Side. Saidia. — we could see the relief.

Five hundred copies of The Day the Purple Kite Flew, distributed through the KCB Foundation-funded drive, are helping pupils and teachers understand epilepsy, respond safely to seizures and challenge the stigma that keeps children out of school.

Alongside the school visits, our trained community health promoters went door to door, identifying people living with seizures across all five wards of Kikuyu subcounty — and connecting them to care.

Up to two million Kenyans live with epilepsy, many undiagnosed or untreated because of stigma. Every teacher trained, every book placed in a classroom, brings us closer to closing that gap. 💜

Thank you to The Star Kenya, journalist Magdalene Saya, the KCB Foundation, Kiambu County, KAWE, and every teacher who welcomed us into their classroom.

#EpilepsyAwareness #SeizureFirstAid #StaySafeSideSaidia #NeuroReachAfrica #TheStarKenya #EndTheStigma #Epilepsy #CommunityHealth #Research #Innovation #Impact