|
|
| Circular -
March 2013 |
| I’m
writing this letter from South Africa. Hazel and I travelled
here from Uganda to see Alan and Sara Clegg, and he was able to
arrange for us to use a house near his own. It’s a chance
to take time to absorb what happened on our visit to Acheru.
Seeing it all again brought home to us the responsibility we’d
taken on in building it, and the responsibility we now have to
all the workers and patients. |
| We travelled
out to Uganda late in January. The journey wasn’t quite as
straightforward as we’d hoped. We had been given an
additional luggage allowance, so wanted to bring as much as
possible for Acheru. Joyce had told us about medical supplies
which they couldn’t obtain locally. We packed six
suitcases, plus three pieces of hand luggage, having been
assured by the travel agent that it would all be consigned
direct from Belfast to Entebbe. We found otherwise when we got
to the airport, and were told we would have to collect it all on
arrival at Heathrow Terminal 1 and transfer it to Terminal 5
ourselves. The transfer is by train, but baggage trolleys can’t
be wheeled through to the platform. This meant toing and froing
till all nine pieces of luggage were on the platform. Then we
found that short trains were used in the evenings, so everything
had to be moved further along the platform. When the train
stopped, it was a scramble getting everything on before the
doors closed. Thankfully at Terminal 5 several other travellers
helped us get it all off before the train left. |
| We arrived very
late at Entebbe, so stayed in a guest house to await collection
by Sam Mutumba the next morning. After breakfast I sent Sam a
text message reminding him to come for us, but fortunately he
remembered, as the text only reached his phone 12 hours later,
when we were all at Acheru. |
| First
impressions were favourable, everything looked good. The site is
maturing, more grassy areas prepared, flowers planted, paths
edged by hedges, and we also saw a number of chickens, dogs,
cows, goats and squirrels. We’ve built all we want to build
there for now. There is potential for more, but only with a
partner as we don’t want to overreach. From now on the
emphasis will be on caring for children, but before being able
to say that development is complete, I went round with Sam,
talked to the staff, and drew up a list of all the details which
need to be dealt with to bring it all up to the standard we
want. |
| We still have
some development money left, so hope we can deal with all
outstanding work. Much of it is straightforward, the biggest job
is completion of the second big underground water tank. We had
got estimates for a borehole, but it would be on someone else’s
property so as well as the cost, I could see difficulties in the
future. Having seen how quickly water tanks fill from gutters
after a shower, I believe most of our needs can be met from
rainwater collection. We now need to ensure that rainwater is
collected from every roof on the site. |
| The purpose of
our visit was to meet with the staff and management committee,
review all that has happened, ensure we all continue to share
the same vision, and to look at our strategy and where we go
from here. We’re in a recession where it’s not easy to
raise funds, but money has come in, the work at Acheru has been
blessed, and is achieving all we could have hoped for, and all
this has been done very cost effectively. It’s a good basis
for our future work together. The work makes a big impression on
many people, not just the patients and their families. It’s
seen by visitors too and this has resulted in a lot of help from
volunteers, some of them overseas students on placements at
Uganda Christian University. They help with medical,
educational, and spiritual work in Acheru, and their efforts are
much appreciated. Those I’ve spoken to are impressed by
what they’ve seen; there is such an obvious change in the
children who are treated. |
| As well as
looking at any work still to be completed, we thought about
vehicle replacements. We’re now going ahead with buying a
pick up to replace the old one at Acheru, and a twin cab pick up
for Sam Mutumba’s use to replace the car he’s been
using for some years now. Something more robust is needed as he
will be doing much more travelling to coordinate Acheru work in
the north. We had also considered replacing the minibus used by
Acheru for transporting patients. It gets a lot of use, clinic
runs, ferrying patients for surgery etc, but is still in
reasonable condition so we can defer replacement – this
will help, as cars aren’t cheap in Uganda. Buying new would
be well beyond our means, and buying something which has already
been used in Uganda means it will have led a hard life. The best
option is to buy from bond – the stocks of used cars
imported from Japan. They are older, but it’s the best
compromise; this is how most cars come into Uganda. |
| While a lot of
work can be done in Acheru, many surgical cases are referred to
CoRSU, who have a big children’s hospital at Kasubi
specialising in orthopaedic and plastic surgery. Their services
are subsidised but the costs are still a significant concern for
us. We want to keep Acheru as full as possible, so inevitably
this means increased costs as we refer more children for
surgery. We have been told by staff at CoRSU that the children
we bring them are among the most serious cases they see, with
some conditions they’ve never seen before. This is a good
indication that Acheru is fulfilling its aims in finding the
neediest children, and providing care for those who couldn’t
otherwise be helped. We believe that without our intervention,
many of our patients would go on to suffer terribly, perhaps
leading to amputation or death. We are determined that no child
will be refused treatment because of cost. We have a wonderful
facility at Acheru and want to get maximum value from it. |
| We have been
planning for some time to do more work in the north,
establishing a permanent presence there instead of clinics every
two months as before. There were discussions and agreements, and
money was raised to get it all started. Acheru is now ready to
recruit a team of workers for the north, but problems have
arisen. Some of the facilities we’d been promised are no
longer available, and this has caused uncertainty. Having come
this far we’ve decided to go ahead but at least to start
with we wont be able to have the hoped for inpatient unit. The
emphasis will be on outpatient and community work, with surgical
patients being referred to Acheru. It’s not ideal but the
need is great and this is the best we can do at present. |
| Talks continue
with local government in the north, and it’s still hoped we
can develop a good working relationship, but the only way to
find out what is possible is to get the work started. We will be
monitoring it all closely, and evaluation will be based on the
numbers helped. Patients requiring surgery can be sent to
Acheru, outpatient work can be done with, for example, cerebral
palsy and club feet, so many children could be helped. We’re
not putting up buildings, our investment is primarily in
personnel, so we can be flexible if we see a better way to
proceed, but at least we’ll be there doing something. |
| The story of
one girl indicates a problem faced by Acheru. A deaf and dumb
Moslem girl, Baluka Zaitini, living in a mud hut in a very poor
area, had her leg badly broken in an accident on 10th November
2012. She was taken to a traditional bone setter, and the
external wounds eventually healed. But infection set in, and she
was in a lot of pain so her mother brought her to the hospital
in Mukono on 15th January. They X rayed her leg and you can see
the results of the bone setter’s efforts. Infection was bad
and likely to develop into osteomyelitis. |
| The hospital
realised it was a case for Acheru and sent for Sam Mutumba.
Surgery at CoRSU was booked for 23rd January, with the girl to
be brought to Acheru a few days earlier, but they didn’t
turn up. Clearly she was suffering, and was only going to get
worse so Sam had to try to track her down. He found where she
lived, and went on 31st January with Hariett, our community
based rehabilitation worker and the local chief to try to
persuade the mother to bring the girl for treatment. She was
admitted to Acheru and we’ve just heard that surgery was
successful. Community leaders, like local chiefs, are very
important people in their own areas, so it means a lot when they
understand what we’re doing and are supportive. Their help
can be important in finding children, and convincing relatives
to bring them for treatment. |
| This story is
all too common and shows the importance of community work in
educating people, tracking down those needing help, and
providing follow up. Harriet also has other responsibilities,
and as Acheru grows the demands on her time are such that we may
need to consider another CBR worker. |
| Many people are
involved in this work. It’s been reinforced many times that
this is an effective practical manifestation of the love of
Christ, and I commend to you the efforts of the Acheru staff who
clearly have a vision for their work which goes far beyond what
could be expected if they regarded themselves simply as
employees. |
| I want to give
my assurances to our donors and supporters that those at Acheru
are doing everything possible to ensure that your help leads
directly to changed lives. We have challenges to face, and
depend very much on your support but I’ve again had the
chance to see for myself how much has been achieved. |
| Thank you for
your help in making this possible. |
| Brian Dorman |
 |
| Baluka Zaitini,
and X ray after traditional bone setter |
|
|
|
