| Circular - June 2024: Planning for the future, and also looking back at former patients |
| At Acheru, they're still giving a lot of thought to how work can develop in the north. Everyone seems clear about the need but it's a big area which is completely new to us. It would be great to be able to build something like we had at Minakulu but we're not ready for that yet, we need a better understanding of exactly how we can work there. Joyce and Harriet have been meeting with local government officials who are very keen to have us in the district, and also working alongside local partners on community visits. A number of trips have been made to the area with children brought back for treatment each time, but it's a long journey and it would be much better to provide outpatient treatment with only the more serious cases being referred back to Acheru. |
| Joyce says in her latest report: "We want to first sensitize communities and local leaders through visiting schools for health talks for people to know us, whereby if we organize a Community Health Outreach people will already have heard about our services. We can do this when school begins. I would suggest we look for land". |
| There are still unknowns, but we can see the potential. From a small base at Minakulu it was possible to organize clinics and community outreaches over a very wide area, and we believe the same could be done from Napak. |
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| I've previously written about a community outreach in Nakasongola district, where despite being within the catchment area of several major government and charitable hospitals we encountered a large number of disabled children who had never been brought for medical intervention. Not the fault of the hospitals, they were providing a service, but the children weren't being brought there for the same reasons we've often encountered - 'traditional' values, particularly opposition from older relatives and the perceived lack of value of a disabled child, or even worse, the misguided 'treatments' from witch doctors or traditional healers. The following is one of many similar stories, this boy had a deformity from birth and had to endure it for 12 years before being brought to Acheru. |
| Our social worker Rose Nakabugo writes: |
| 'Meet SEMBATYA TONY a 12 year old boy from Nakasongola District Kyalusaka Village who came to Acheru with a neglected curved foot. Tony's parents separated and he is under the care of his mother who is a peasant farmer. He is the 4th born among the siblings. |
| Mother narrates that "I gave birth to my first children when they are normal but my only son came with a curved foot. By then I was still staying with the father and this was the start of our misunderstandings. The blame about my son being lame was put on me. I didn't get a chance to take my son to hospital because I had no money. However much I was directed to different places where his foot could be treated at a young age I failed. His father married another wife and sent me back to my family's home. |
| It hasn't been easy raising him with his disability as a single mother, walking to school has been so challenging for him being that there is quite a long distance. Fetching water from the well wasn't easy too. He has met a lot of unkind older people and children who have damaged his mental well-being through the bad nicknames they gave him. This didn't affect him alone but me as well, some people in the village think that giving birth to a disabled child is due to something I've done. I thought the same way until when I got proper explanations when I came to Acheru. |
| I'm so grateful that my son is now OK, the distance we moved and the time we have spent at ACHERU is so worthwhile. We left a number of people who were in need of treatment in our village. Some were so scared that their children will get more deformed and others didn't get a chance to be helped. I greatly thank God who made my son to be among the lucky ones who were chosen that day. My son is OK now. |
| Tony adds "I'm happy that I will not be abused now. I wasn't able to put on shoes but now I can. I will be able to play football with my friends at school." |
| GOD BLESS YOU ACHERU |
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| The school holiday ends soon and Joyce has plans in place to continue visiting the blind children. The emphasis continues to be on fellowship and spiritual growth and it's a great opportunity to be able to do this in a government school; we want to try to maintain links with the children after they leave. Thought is also being given to skills training for the children - this could be related to possible income generation, or their quality of life. With this in mind a start has been made with music. The photo shows some of the children with keyboards; these belong to the school but weren't working and we've now been able to have them repaired. A number of guitars have now been taken for repair. |
| Several previous pupils there have had music training which they have used successfully, so we will be looking out for any pupils showing particular aptitude. Where appropriate, we'd like to be able to provide them with instruments of their own. We are also investigating how the pupils can be equipped to read - whether using Braille or some form of digital media - not just at the school but after they leave. There's limited Braille material at the school but it's costly and bulky. The pupils can use Braille typewriters when they have suitable paper but we really want to find wats of making a wider range of material available. |
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| News of another earlier patient: Nakauma Justine is a 4 year old girl who was brought to ACHERU on 15/7/2020 during COVID-19 period with a complaint of bilateral knee deformities (bow legs). She was assessed, examined and diagnosed with bilateral genu varum and was then taken to CoRSU hospital for surgeon's intervention who advised for observation for a period of one year. |
| On 3/8/2021, Justine was scheduled for surgery (hemiepiphysiodesis of bilateral tibia/femur) on 18/8/2021 and then after surgery, she was discharged back to ACHERU for post-operative care. |
| Justine's mother says: "I give birth to children with curved legs but they get fine as they grow. We were not bothered at all when she started walking with curved legs, we knew she was going to be fine like her siblings but it did not happen as expected, by the age of two and a half they showed signs of getting better but for her it was getting worse. We had no idea that such a problem can be fixed until someone directed us to ACHERU. |
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| What we thought was not possible sounded so simple to the people we met there, the smile they used while telling us that all will be well melted some of our fears and we relaxed to hear the steps to be taken to help our girl get better. I'm so happy we came when our girl was still young, the surgery was so successful, she healed well and so much faster than we expected. She is walking so fine and happy, no sign of pain. thank you Acheru for the great support". |
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| The photo shows gifts brought to Acheru by the grateful parents of a child we've treated. Such gifts, while very much appreciated, have a significance far beyond any monetary value; they show that our work is recognized and appreciated. I've often written about attitudes to disabled children - cursed, rejected, victims of 'traditional' practices. We're treating not just children but families. A previously rejected child accepted by their family, a family accepted by a community which may have shunned them because of the stigma of a disabled child. |
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| There's still a great deal for us to do, but much has already been achieved. The appreciation shown by families and carers who become part of the Acheru 'family' shows how attitudes can be changed and spurs us on to greater efforts. Think back to the early days of our work when we would encounter children described as the 'living dead'. |
| Central to what we do is keeping our focus on this being a Christian work. In an era of increasingly noisy and violent protests and demonstrations for all sorts of 'causes' we quietly, and I believe much more effectively, get on with manifesting Christ's love in a very practical and visible form. Through this approach, large numbers have been influenced and had their lives changed. |
| We've been doing this for a long time; it has been demanding, we've faced many problems, but we're not going to stop. It is a privilege to meet regularly with Christian friends involved in other areas of work, with the shared aim of getting a message across by responding to need rather than just making a lot of noise. |
| When you see protests and demonstrations on TV please bear in mind that what you're not seeing, and what I believe to be much more effective, is the work in so many countries of Christians leading by example and changing lives. |
| It's against this background that I can't be complacent, I want to see us reach so many more disabled children. As well as the ongoing work at Acheru we're assisting with the blind children at Salama and we've the possibility of working at Napak in Karamoja, a new opportunity for us. The staff are ready to go into difficult situations, and continue to ensure that all are treated on the basis of need and regardless of background or ability to pay. |
| The motivation for the staff is the same as for myself; having seen the difference we can make we are determined to reach more children. How positive and life affirming is the message we bring at a time when we are surrounded by conflict and negativity. |
