| May 2024 report: Partnership opportunities, and news of former patients |
| There's more encouraging news from Acheru, where it's clear that they are seizing the opportunities available to them to develop their witness and reach more children. A request was received to 'partner' with a group of schools, and on a preliminary visit a number of disabled children were seen. We hope they'll soon be assessed and referred for treatment as appropriate. |
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| Visit to Tabiro school April 2024 |
| Of course problems can arise too, and my experience of other organisations in Uganda is that too often they fail to deal effectively with disciplinary issues. We are fortunate in not having had many such issues at Acheru, but sadly another did arise recently and it's to the credit of the leadership that it was dealt with decisively before damage could be caused to the work. |
| I am surprised and delighted with the rapid development of our partnership with Salama school for the blind. Having agreed on our aims, the staff quickly engaged with the school, established a good understanding with the new headmistress, and got work under way. Salama is a government school, but thanks to the efforts of James Mulira who first went there with boys from Besaniya, a Christian witness has been maintained; now, with this partnership with Acheru, there's an opportunity to develop this, with a particular emphasis on what life will be like for the blind children after they leave school. |
| Esther (page 7 of the Acheru children book) had severely limited use of her arms due to burns contractures, and was brought to Acheru in 2019. Releasing the contractures made a huge difference, she was able to return to school and has done well. |
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| Esther |
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| Esther now |
| Most of our club foot patients are young children, but there are a lot of neglected cases. Magdalena (page 19 of our Acheru children book) suffered such pain that she had to stop attending school and was unable to complete her education. Such cases are relatively straightforward and low cost for Acheru, usually dealt with on an outpatient basis with minimal need for surgical intervention, but what a difference it makes. Acheru treatment transformed Magdalena's life, enabling her to realise her ambition of going for tailoring training, and she now earns a living making clothes. Another very happy Acheru client! |
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| Magdalena before treatment |
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| Magdalena now |
