Mick and I returned from Uganda one month ago, after spending 5 days at Kisiizi Hospital and one week at Hope Community Clinic in Rwentobo. It was good to be included in the management team meeting on Day 1 of our time at the clinic. Representatives from Kisiizi Hospital, World Shine Ministires and Hope Community Clinic, attend these quarterly meetings to review progress, address any issues and plan for the future. The meeting took place at World Shine Primary School and some of the members are shown here, plus a couple of little helpers!Clinical Officer Julius presented statistics for clinic use from January to August 2023 when 3,146 clients passed through the clinic:
- 1747 general outpatients with acute health problems
- 261 family planning clients
- 294 cases of malaria
- 885 babies and children vaccinated
- 161 antenatal mothers seen
- 74 patients required overnight admission as they were so ill
- 1986 laboratory samples were screened in the laboratory
During the week that we were at the clinic, 10 mothers were screened for cervical cancer. The technique used is different to what is done in the UK but one woman was found to have possible cancerous changes. She was immediately referred to Kisiizi Hospital where the team were so concerned that she received a full hysterectomy within one week, thus removing all the cancer. The lady returned to the clinic soon afterwards to thank the team for saving her life!
Whilst at Kisiizi, we attended the 25th Anniversary celebrations of the school of Nursing which included the graduation ceremony of many nurses and midwives who have graduated from Kisiizi in the last two years. We were delighted to share celebrations with Nurse Martha, who was sponsored to upgrade to registered diploma nurse by Mission Rwentobo supporters.
As mentioned in last month's report, it was great to join Martha for the weekly childhood immunisation clinic. This is always attended by John and Joy, the Voluntary Community Health workers whom the mothers trust, so between 20 and 40 babies and children are immunised each week. John takes responsibility for the paperwork while Joy weighs and cares for the babies. We were able to distribute some donated clothes and blankets which were much appreciated.
For more encouraging news news, please visit our website which has recently been updated. https://www.missionrwentobo.org
Thanks to your support with the August sponsored paddle-boarding fund raiser, Kisiizi Hospital were able to recruit a new Clinical Officer to support the team. After a 2 week induction at Kisiizi, Helen moved to Rwentobo two weeks ago and is settling in well. Due to the increasing numbers of patients who are attending the clinic, her support is essential so thank you so much for your generous donations.
Appeal to repair the clinic wallsAs you can see from these photos, the exterior clinic walls are in urgent need of repair as they are crumbling due to damp. Whilst in Rwentobo, Mick was able to speak to a trusted building engineer who explained that a long-term solution to this problem would be to strip back the existing render, insert a shelf to prevent rising damp and then re-render with bricks and re-plaster and repaint as shown here. Due to the large perimeter of the building, the cost of this is about £2,400, half of which has already been pledged. As the work needs to be done ASAP, a fundraising appeal has been set up on Just Giving with a target of £1,000 by the end of November.https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/clinicwallrepairsPlease contribute if you can so that the clinic is on a firm foundation for the future.
Once the clinic walls are repaired, we will be in a better position to start to prepare for the extension of maternity services, to include the delivery of babies, thus saving lives in an area where maternal and neonatal mortality satisitics are among the highest worldwide. The interior of the clinic will need to be modified to include a maternity ward and delivery rooms which means that the two clinical staff who currently live in will need to find accommodation outside the clinic. A placenta pit and incinerator will be need to be added outside and specialist equipment will need to be purchased. Thanks to a donation, an ultrasound scanner like this one, has been purchased to that pregnant mothers can be scanned to check the position of the placenta, the number of babies and any possible complications. A delivery couch has also been ordered.
In order for babies to be delivered safely, staffing levels also need to increase. As well as the new Clinical Officer, it is essential to have a registered midwife and an enrolled midwife as well as the nurses. Thanks to generous sponsorship, Brenda, who is the existing enrolled midwife at the clinic, is doing further training at Kisiizi to upgrade to registered midwife. Also, thanks to recent donations, a new enrolled midwife has been recruited by Kisiizi and will be joining the team soon. It is also important to ensure that mothers with at risk pregnancies or who have complications in labour, have access to a specialist maternity center where cesarean section can occur if required. We are grateful that Rushooka Catholic maternity centre, are happy to partner with the clinic to provide this care and they are also able to send an ambulance to collect a mother if required urgently.Please pray that funds can be raised through trust applications and individual giving to cover the cost of equipping and modifying the clinic to provide full maternity care.Mission Rwentobo Afternoon Tea When? Sunday 19 November, 4pm to 6pmWhere? Tonbridge Baptist Church, Long Mead LoungePlease come and join us for cake and refreshments and a presentation including photos and videos of the September support visit. Friends and family are welcome.I would like to finish with a MASSIVE THANK YOU to all those who have supported Hope Community Clinic with prayers and funds down the years. I hope you are encouraged by the knowledge of lives transformed, lives saved and HOPE for even bigger things in the future. I know that the Clinic team really appreciate your support, without which they could not continue to serve the community as they do. May God bless and encourage you all,Debbie Burke (On behalf of the trustees of Mission Rwentobo).