November 2024 report: Report of a young patient, a new partnership, and news from Napak Rose Nakabugo, our Acheru social worker, writes: Gabeya Margaret is a 5 year old girl from Seeta, Mukono District. She suffers from weak bones. She is the first of two children. Both parents are teachers. Her mother says: "I met my husband when I was still at school while practicing for my nursery teaching certificate. I became pregnant very fast when still at school and we were so happy about it. We told our families and all went well. We knew that we were getting a baby girl but she came out with deformities from the start. Her legs were curved and we started treatment in a government hospital. They did a lot of casting but none worked. After a year of not improving we shifted to another district for work and that is where someone saw her and directed us to ACHERU. I'm so grateful for the lovely people we met, they told us the truth about our child and the possibilities of how her life was going to be and they advised us of nutritious foods she needs and how to protect her. Because of her condition my marriage was breaking dure to many people including family who said we will never give birth to a normal child when together. I saw our marriage declining day by day, I cried so much and lost a lot of weight. I felt like the only people I can trust were my good friends who always visited us to check on our daughter. I shared my story with them and they played a very great role of becoming our counselors. They talked to my husband and he changed the way he thought about having more kids. These people increased my belief in God, I was taught how to pray and have faith in God. I became pregnant again though my husband was still in fear but he calmed down after a good talk with my friends. We were advised on what to eat and God answered our prayers. We gave birth to a beautiful healthy baby boy whom we named 'Elijah' from the Bible and we are pregnant for our 3rd born. The family which was against us changed their minds, thank you God. These people helped us to believe in our daughter so much. They showed us how clever and beautiful she is, and this calmed down our fears. They guided and advised us about taking her to school and to our surprise she is the best in class. She has the best handwriting and best performance. Accepting her the way she is, is the best thing we have ever done. We try as much as we can to protect her from breaking her bones but sometimes it fails more so when she is at school. She doesn't have a wheelchair to ease her mobility and sometimes she wants to play with her friends. And carrying her on the back everyday is tiring too. THANK YOU SO MUCH ACHERU GOD BLESS YOU A new partnership. The photo shows part of the team from the Ministry of Health and Buganda Kingdom, who want to sponsor our club foot patients for casts and surgery. They intend to provide us with technical help through their country wide network. This relationship shows clearly the confidence the Ministry of Health has in the quality of our work. Napak: I have mentioned a number of times our intention to work at Napak in Karamoja. So far this has been done by a visiting team from Acheru running community outreaches and these have been effective in helping us learn about the area and locating children for treatment. We now have an opportunity to move to the next level with the establishment of a permanent base there. This will be a big step for us, we've a lot to think about and I hope to report on this more fully in the next circular. The pictures show some of the children seen at a recent Napak visit, and we now want to provide appropriate treatment. But seeing these children is only the start. We then have to find their families and convince them that the child can be helped. Then there's the problem of the child and carer travelling all the way to Kabembe, where the carer is expected to stay with the child when they might usually be needed at home. We depend on our partners in the area to help with all this, we do everything possible to ensure the child can get the treatment they need. Kodet Morino is seven, with scoliosis which causes breathing difficulties. We are now encouraging his family to bring him to Acheru for investigation and treatment. Anyera Gloria, 10 yrs old, had a previous operation locally, but the bone then deformed. She lost her dad, now she is under the care of her mother who plans to travel to Kabembe in two weeks when she has harvested her sorghum. Moses is a 9 yr old suspected to have a maxilla facial deformity. He stays with his sister. We are trying to arrange for his mother, who works in another town, to bring him to Mukono. Kizito Opio has severe post burns contractures of the left foot. He is 14 yrs old, in primary 3. A rat fell from the roof, knocking over a lamp and setting fire to his sleeping mat. There are difficulties at home, but every effort will be made to get him to Kabembe for treatment. His brother, Sam, was previously treated at Acheru for a serious facial tumour. Return to full Acheru website