On most mornings at the Lacor-Bardege market, the vendors wake up before the sun does. By 6 a.m., fresh fruit and vegetables are already stacked in neat pyramids, charcoal sacks are lined along dusty pathways, and the hum of bargaining fills the air. For many vendors, this is not just a marketplace, it’s their office, their livelihood, and the heartbeat of their families.
Unless it’s a critical illness, most of them find themselves too busy to visit a health facility. On this particular day, we went to them. And, we started with conversations, not lectures.
What is cervical cancer (CaCx)?
Why does sickle cell screening matter?
How often should you check your blood pressure?
Why is HIV testing still important, even if you feel fine?
Some of them asked honest questions, some laughed nervously, and others nodded slowly as things began to make sense.
One vendor said, “I have heard about cervical cancer on the radio, but I never thought screening was for someone like me.”
The beauty of outreach is its simplicity. (Most of the vendors who came to us were women). Every 10 minutes, a woman would leave her stall, have her blood pressure checked, and return before losing customers. Another would step aside for HIV testing while her neighbor watched her tomatoes. A mother would get screened for cervical cancer, then pick up her baby and continue selling groundnuts. Health came to the marketplace, woven into their day.
No transport costs.
No long queues at the hospital.
No choosing between income and health.
In communities like Lacor-Bardege, time is money. Missing one market day can mean missing school fees. It can mean no salt on the table. It can mean a week of setbacks.
By bringing services such as:
- Health education
- Cervical cancer (CaCx) screening
- Sickle cell screening
- HIV testing
- Blood pressure measurement
We removed one of the biggest barriers to care: access. And something powerful happened. Vendors who had postponed care for years finally took that step. Conversations about health began spreading from stall to stall. Knowledge moved faster than customers.
More Than Medicine
Outreach like this is not just about tests and numbers. It’s about dignity. It’s about meeting people where they are, literally. And that is what community medicine looks like.
This is the heart of Lacor Hospital’s mission: not just treating illness, but preventing it. Not just serving patients, but serving communities. Because sometimes the most powerful thing a hospital can do is step outside its walls.
