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| December
2012 Report - The loss of Apollo and Acheru’s work in
northern Uganda. |
| What a
devastating end to the year with the brutal murder of Apollo. We
still know very little of what happened but it doesn’t
sound like a robbery; unfortunately it does seem as if he was
targeted, but for what reason we’ve no idea. |
| Apollo had been
with us for eight years, starting as clinical orthopaedic
officer and more recently on study leave at medical school with
the aim of becoming a surgeon. He remained contracted to Acheru,
still worked there during holidays, and was important to our
future plans. He had been staying with relatives near Mukono,
and his body was found very close to home. His mother is still
alive, and Apollo was the last surviving of four brothers. |
| The work of
Acheru goes on and we have to come to terms with this loss, but
Apollo’s work will be remembered for a long time by the
large number of patients he helped. Another orthopaedic officer
had been appointed when Apollo went to university so it’s
not his medical skills which will be missed most, it’s his
commitment to Acheru and the experience he brought to the
management of the work. |
| We are now
close to another big step with the work of Acheru, with
preparations well under way for work in the north. It looks like
we will be doing much more than we had originally envisaged but
the need is great, donors have been generous, and everyone
concerned believes we should go ahead with our plans. We’ve
been talking to other agencies in the hope that we can work in
cooperation and take referrals from them. The influence of
Acheru can thus extend over a much wider area. When we sit
around looking at possibilities or making plans, we have to
think of the suffering children who may be helped, and this
gives it all a sense of urgency. It’s nice to have the
luxury of time in preparing for the future and looking at all
the possibilities or potential problems, but while we’re
doing this, children suffer, so I hope that very soon we will
see significant growth in the number of children from the north
who receive help. |
| Hazel and I
intend going out later in January; it’s not my place now to
try to tell them what to do, I want to meet with them all to
hear what they think we should be doing, and give them whatever
support and encouragement I can. Losing the experience of Paul,
who left us to study in Amsterdam, and now Apollo, has placed a
heavy load on the remaining staff, but I believe their vision
remains undimmed. |
| Please pray
that everyone involved in preparations for the future of Acheru
will be blessed with the necessary wisdom and enthusiasm for the
task. |
| Brian Dorman |
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