Dear All,
I have to remember that I’m no longer working at Kagando Hospital for 3 months at a time, but rather for around 3 weeks & as one gets older one gets slower….so the answer was to cram in as much as I could, hope for the best & catch up on sleep when it’s job done !
The main focus of this trip was the health screening programme. The programme was headed by the Rwenzori Women for Health team & support staff (set up in 2011); we were also joined by other wonderful hospital support of nurses/midwives & admin. We screened for HIV, diabetes, Malnutrition, Hypertension, Breast examination and Cervical Cancer (HPV). The final count was 667 clients: we didn’t charge for any of the screening nor for any prescribed medication (we carried with us antibiotics and analgesics). Clients having abnormal results were referred to the hospital.
For support, we also had our Community Health Co-ordinators, field workers, (CHCs). The CHCs play a vital role in being the link between their villages & the team/hospital. Our CHCs will do their best to follow up our client referrals as from past experience they don’t always comply. It may be simply that they can’t afford transport to the hospital (c.80p round trip) in which case we can help them get there.
The villages were strategically chosen on the lowlands for easy access to the communities in the mountains. As it’s the coffee season, we decided to go to the local coffee factory as the hardworking staff would have been strapped for time to come for screening. The days were long. With two of the villages we had a 10hr day, working in very basic rooms: sweep the floor, organise a few tables, two which would be used as examination couches, put up some screening for privacy, shoo the chickens out, and hoping the pig that was wondering outside doesn’t come in…..! We had brought mattresses for the tables and as a cover the women took off their ‘kitenge’ popped it on the mattress & lay on it. The kitenge is a large piece of cotton cloth that is wrapped round the waist – this protects their dresses from dust but has other uses: laying it on the ground (or couch!) to sit/lie on, using it to carry shopping, securing baby on the back …we should all have a kitenge!
Throughout the day we took it in turns to have a break but there wasn’t one single complaint from staff. On the contrary, when I was wanting to call it a day & shutting the doors to any more clients, the staff insisted on continuing, whilst reassuring me that they were doing it for their community, their families. There’s an incredible sense of belonging, looking after their own people, especially knowing that for some there’d be a reluctance to go to the hospital, possibly because they’d be worried of cost implications, or a preference to go to ‘traditional healers’ or fear of the many myths that surround ‘white medicine’: one in particular is the concern of having a smear test, as many women believe that the womb is taken out & put on a plate to be examined….it is because of such tales that RWFH do spend a lot of time focusing on health education & demystifying the myths.
Last year on Easter Day with the support of Kagando Chaplaincy we cooked for 70 inmates & staff. As I was returning to UK on Easter Sunday I held this gathering on Palm Sunday. With 70 prisoners, plus staff, cooks & clergy, we fed 100! The meal included goats meat, rice cabbage beans and ‘Irish’ (potatoes! )and they enjoyed a soda too. Staff from the chaplaincy went early with a truck full of purchases, to cook the meal at the prison.The remaining few joined them after the Palm Sunday service.
Much to the hilarity of many I managed to give a few stirs to an enormous cooking pan, full of goats meat simmering over an open fire. You need to have lots of muscle to do that for a couple of hours, enough said! For those prisoners who’ve been at the prison for sometime their last nourishing, fulfilling meal would have been at Christmas.
Sadly, after the service, as there were so many prisoners & just five prison staff on duty ,they had to be locked up once they got their plate of food. Seventy prisoners all huddled together in a hot oppressive room with three latrines. I’ve been in that room, I’ve seen the conditions they live in, I’ve seen the edge of hell.
Your immense kindness also helped to feed and clothe 30 people affected by leprosy. Together with Paul Warren, from the International Charity The Order of St Lazarus of Jerusalem (Malta), we visited the village of Kabuyiri. Although we went in a vehicle the route was not an easy one- a narrow road of sorts taking us up a steep incline with a valley below and then down to a remote village. We were made very welcome but it was painful to see and hear this special group of people telling us their stories, of poverty, sickness and isolation. Worse still was to hear that “many lepers are still in hiding” – the stigma ever present. This is despite the incredible work that is done at Kagando Hospital & in the community to support people affected by leprosy & help them live with their families, and to educate the community, so that they can have dignity and live without fear.
Oh & of course we had the return journey, up the valley, then down…….eyes shut tight!
The RainbowRoom continues to open daily for the children – and adults – to have play time. I enjoy those afternoons whenever I have time. On a Wednesday RWFH hold nutrition day at Rainbow as well: what started as a monthly initiative now needs to be held weekly due to the rise in malnutrition, mainly in children but we’ve had adult referrals too.
Walking to the mountain village of Buzira, is most definitely an easier route now (everything is relative!). Since last year we boast of a ‘Health Centre’ (two roomed affair and definitely work in progress, but it’s a start). Every month we’re taking a midwife as well & run a general clinic. Slowly slowly I hope the clinic evolves & we can offer more services to the communities living further up the mountains.
Kagando Primary & Nursery School is always a joy to visit. It’s only a few minutes walk from the hospital, very much part of the hospital itself and many of their staff send the children to the school. I try & support the school in any way I can, particularly the nursery: the children now have proper swings (instead of tyres hanging precariously from tree branches) and a slide. With each visit I take pencils & notebooks for the children & biros for staff, and last year I had ‘safe water’ installed, as they had no water. On this visit I also had high viz vests to hand out to the children who come to school on a bodaboda. A couple of days after the school visit I saw five little ones on one bodaboda. Terrifying.
Sadly much more is needed: they have 3 classrooms but one is in main a wooden structure & open to the elements so when it rains it can’t be used. Their ‘kitchen’ is very basic, but they’re given porridge every day & although it’s made with water for some it’s the most nourishing food they get all day. So here goes: It would be wonderful to twin this school with another primary/nursery school…it doesn’t matter which country; just to give them that extra bit of support, to boost the morale of the staff, maybe enable the kids to have porridge with milk occasionally (what a treat!) or some more play equipment, or simply the occasional letter…anything no matter how small… just to let them know that somebody is thinking about them, somebody does care.
On my last morning the 5th RWFH Bodaboda (motorbike) workshop was held. Many of these bikes are used as taxis -also known locally as PickiPicki-, Sadly there are many bike related accidents causing terrible injuries. Women typically ride sidesaddle & the children are either strapped to the backs of the mums or seated haphazardly. The bikers are equally vulnerable & in need of support. They are a marginalised group, and have a reputation for drinking & drug taking – this has a knock on effect not only with their driving, but sadly many wives suffer domestic violence as a consequence. However the bodaboda drivers perform a very important role in the community: without them many remote villages would definitely struggle
The core group of bikers who were invited are desperate to have these workshops made available to others, work with police, form a support group & have credibility as “safe bikers”. Despite their wishes & those of the hospital & police, I cannot justify holding another workshop without actually being able to move the programme forward & to a wider audience, as we’re just going over the same teaching to a small cohort.
Basically it’s to do with funding & how best to utilise the donations given. So a direct plea to anyone who has biking connections (or not!) and is interested in this initiative…or others (!) please do get in touch.
Once again my enormous gratitude to Paul & Jules: since January 2010 our lives have been entwined with Kagando, not of their doing but their constant support has been above and beyond.
To all my wonderful family friends and the many of you whom I haven’t even met: each and everyone of you is special….from prayers, to listening graciously to my endless stories, thinking of me, for the wonderful sacks of clothing regularly coming to Kagando, to filling my suitcases with knitting, high viz vests, bras, pulsoximeters & stethoscopes, to mention but a small selection of the kaleidoscope of items that go into them…and for the financial support to the projects, initiatives and day to day needs … thank you… your infinite kindnesses makes a difference & help make the lives of others that little bit easier.
May the good Lord bless you abundantly
With love
Rita
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Photos are taken with consent.
Rita in Africa 