News - Letter January 2023

August 2022 Newsletter

 

Hi Friends This is an early and brief newsletter to share a wonderful short video made by Nick (Dr Nicholas Laing) St Phillip's Health Centre previously We love because he first loved us The video shows the heart of both Nick and of the project. It is a Ministry of love and one that seeks to glorify God. When Peter worked in Gulu, Saint Phillips health centre was tiny and manned by a nurse who had no training whatsoever (although actually she was quite good) and a clinical assistant who was way beyond retirement age. Now the facility is massively expanded including having a delivery suite and inpatient ward. The clinical assistant, Sam, who spoke to camera is brilliant. Also brilliant is Nurse Emma (Emmanuel) who has a supervisory and training role and is also developing the Christian spiritual side of the work. We hope you enjoy the video which you can watch by following this link : Video for Churches 2022 Blessings and love Gemma and Pete IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO HELP... You can donate by : Bank transfer and adding your name as reference. Bank name: TSB Account Name: Nechells and Overseas Care Fund Account number : 00190468 Sort code: 30-90-95 Or by making a cheque payable to Nechells and Overseas Care Fund and then sending it to the following address : Mr Peter Hill - Charity Administrator 47 Heneage Street Nechells Birmingham B7 4NF If you would prefer not to receive our emails – please reply with unsubscribe in the subject line

Gulu Connection June 2022 Newsletter

 Hi Friends

Like buses on an out of favour route our newsletters are becoming increasingly infrequent but, as  one has arrived, I hope you enjoy the “journey.“ Thank you for being involved with the Gulu Connection family.

This newsletter will be a little different as we will shine a light on some of the activities of the overall charity (Nechells and Overseas Care Fund) of which Gulu Connection  is a part.

What is going on in Gulu and are we making a difference?

Main man, inspirational Dr Nick Laing continues to set up new units in unserved areas but also develops established units – and that is our main area of interest. We are very proud to play our part and the recent annual report demonstrates success despite challenges. 

 

When good news is bad news - Malaria down but so is income. 

The bad news is that numbers of patients and financial income at Oberabic and St Peters Aware health Centres fell because of the good news that malaria levels were extremely low due to seasonal factors and distribution of mosquito nets. Financial constraints due to Covid and rural depopulation added to the numerical decline.

Rising to the Challenge - Oberabic and St Peters Awere

These established units continue to give excellent cost effective medical care.  As warmly recognized by the latest diocesan annual report, both units are significantly subsidized by your generous help without which some truly poor people would not have accessible health care. Thank you.

Amazing Success Story - Pwunu Dyang - Started with your support 4 years ago.

Pwunu Dyang, to quote the diocesan  annual report “ has been one of the most incredible stories in the diocese in recent years.“ It started from nothing in the middle of a conflict area and it is now one of the busiest units in the diocese with each month an outpatient number averaging 200, 80 antenatal visits and 5 deliveries. 

A word about us. Gulu Connection part of Nechells and Overseas Care Fund.

Gulu  connection is part of the charity Nechells and Overseas care fund and we are proud to say that 100% of donations to Gulu connection go direct to the Diocese of Northern Uganda. Nechells and Overseas Care Fund is tiny but has an impressive 99.5% effectiveness, The only administrative charge being our accountancy costs.

Because of the appalling effect of Covid, we have been providing some support to trusted personal contacts of Peter. The first is an amazing Church that works in a slum area in Southeast India and more recently humanitarian support in Sri Lanka where the economy has collapsed and society is devastated. We are not fully comfortable with the pictures giving accountability and will ask for them not to be repeated but one is shown here to demonstrate this aspect of our work. 

A story of a donor

I recently met with one of our donors. He has a standard job, walks to church so as to avoid the emission charge in Birmingham, is very frugal with his personal expenses yet is one of our biggest monthly contributors. I am exceedingly grateful to him and to others amongst you who are supporting us financially and with prayer.

We are hoping for more with any of the following: one off gifts, regular donations, using Give as You Live or  Amazon Smile to make your own personal purchases. Please remember us in all these areas. Large charities are inefficient and a lot of their projects are corrupt, but we hit the target. It would be great to be able to do more.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO HELP...

You can donate by :

Bank transfer and adding your name as reference.

Account Name. NOCF

Account number : 00190468

Sort code: 30-90-95

Or by making a cheque payable to Nechells and Overseas Care Fund and then sending it to the following address :

Mr Peter Hill - Charity Administrator

47 Heneage Street

Nechells

Birmingham

B7 4NF

 

Challenges at home Hi, Summer greetings. As I write spirit lifting sun is shining. Apologies for the delay in sending out this newsletter. Peter has been having challenges as Carol‘s health has went through a bad patch resulting in hospital admission. She is now improved. No news does not mean no activity. The excellent work of the healthcare team in Uganda continues to advance and it is great, with your support, to be able to assist.

New project. We were pleased to be able to say yes to a direct request for help on a recent phone call to Nick and Fiona in Uganda, to provide funds to support a rural health centre in a village called Awere which is facing sustainability issues since an American funded maternity project has ceased. The health unit has an excellent team in a needy area and we are pleased to be able to play our part in providing some regular finance to ensure that their success continues.

Health Centre in Awere

Punu Dyang The totally new unit set up a couple of years ago, which has received support from us for the building and maternity equipment, goes from strength to strength. It is a remarkable success story and, as outlined in previous newsletters, an answer to specific prayers of Peter – something he had very much hoped for. This health centre is placed in an extremely rural area – in the middle of jungle – and also in an area of significant conflict. It has been staffed by saints and is possibly going to be the busiest unit in the Diocese of Northern Uganda‘s health unit portfolio. Thank you for your support - it has enabled us to get this far.

Completed Punu Dyang Health Centre

What else is going on? Another brand new health centre has been started between Punu Dyang and the health centre that we have played a big part in upgrading called Oberabic. This is another exciting development as it is placed in an area of huge need particularly in terms of maternity services but there is still an alarmingly high number of home births. Fiona and Nick continue to supervise all the units, maintaining and improving standards of care. One very encouraging fact is that nurses are now staying with the diocese for prolonged periods which has helped to improve standards of care. Nick is continuing with his project of developing totally new units in areas of need.

That money thing Thank you so much for your financial support so important for the people we are caring for. We are particularly grateful for some new and unexpected donations - thank you - You know who you are. Please continue, particularly as we have increased our commitment.

Amazon Smile.... Please continue to use Amazon smile which is now available directly on the iPhone app.

Give as you live... Give as you live is still a good way of increasing our funds if you have the presence of mind to remember to use it for all Internet purchases

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO HELP... You can donate by : Bank transfer and adding your name as reference. Account Name. NOCF Account number : 00190468 Sort code: 30-90-95 Or by making a cheque payable to Nechells and Overseas Care Fund and then sending it to the following address : Mr Peter Hill - Charity Administrator 47 Heneage Street Nechells Birmingham B7 4NF

If you would prefer not to receive our emails – please reply with unsubscribe in the subject line

August Newsletter 2020

Smile we are on Amazon Hi. We hope this finds you well. Thank you for being a friend of Gulu Connection. In these strange days, most of us are shopping online and much of that is through Amazon who have parted company with Give As You Live but have set up their own charitable avenue entitled Amazon smile.

If you use Amazon please select Amazon smile LINK HERE and nominate Nechells and Overseas Care Fund as your charity. Give As You Live LINK HERE is still operational so please use that and nominate us as your charity for online purchases – particularly big-ticket items.  We will be sending emails and whatsapps to many of our supporters to encourage them to help us in this way.null

Coronavirus still dominates. Coronavirus is still with us both in the UK and Uganda. At home there is a feeling that some control has been gained but the country has suffered dreadfully. The situation is dire but different in Uganda where it appears infection has been much less prevalent with currently one recorded death.Dr Nick’s prediction that there would be more deaths from lockdown restrictions, particularly transport which frustrated people's attempts to get to health units and acquire food would be more damaging than the disease itself has come to pass. A further major frustration is that schools remain closed with only a possible opening in September. As education is the single biggest most effective way of reducing poverty, this is potentially disastrous.

And now the good news - Pwunu Dyang The four roomed unit is now up to roof level and is about to be opened, and when it does, it will employ a midwife so that deliveries can take place in a safe situation. This will be truly life saving as there are no other facilities in the area and so births often take palace in mud huts without artificial light and with untrained attendants. (Apologies for the photo, better ones were sent but Pete lost them!) Nick sent us an update - see email excerpt below. ''Just letting you know the building is incredibly going great at Pwunu Dyang. Chris from Oberabic and Nurse Alfred out there are doing the most incredible job...As soon as we complete, we're going to get a midwife in there as soon as possible, as that's the greatest need of the community. Interestingly scabies is rife out there right now. We are doing our best, but it needs a more widespread public health intervention from the government, our treatment will cure a few but not solve the problem! Emma and I were on the radio last week talking about it. God bless, Nick.'' Story behind the photo Tessa cycled all the way from Gulu to Amuru – I guess that must be 50 km, and took the photo after visiting Pwunu Dyang (an extra 25km). It is heartwarming to think of the passion and commitment of Nick and Tessa as full time, long-term missionaries.

A dream come true. Below is printed a section from the blog of May 2018 which shows why Pwunu Dyang is so close to Pete‘s heart. ''Some years ago, on my first working visit to Gulu, I visited the District Health Officer to introduce myself as someone who was working in the diocesan health coordination department. He was dismissive to the point of rudeness. He asked what I was hoping to achieve and I mumbled something along the lines of improving the health care for the truly poor. At this point he got up and left the office. I thought I might have said something that offended him. He returned to his office with a big map of Gulu and surrounding area. He pointed to it, showed me large areas of the district that had no health care cover and said, “If you want to help the truly poor, open units in these areas.” This is what has happened, with the opening of Pwunu Dyang.

Oberabic This unit which has been the main beneficiary of our finance for some time was inspected on July 20. Once again there is great news with recording of excellent clinical standards in terms of diagnosis and following Nicks strict treatment guidelines. In addition, the buildings and grounds were in great shape. This team is doing an amazing job and it is a privilege to support them.

Through our funding the land on which the unit was built has been purchased and a path has been dug ion order to plant a boundary of trees.

Thanks Once again thank you so much for your support through prayer and giving. With love and blessings Peter and Gemma

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO HELP... You can donate by : Bank transfer and adding your name as reference. Account Name. NOCF Account number : 00190468 Sort code: 30-90-95 Or by making a cheque payable to Nechells and Overseas Care Fund and then sending it to the following address : Mr Peter Hill - Charity Administrator 47 Heneage Street Nechells Birmingham B7 4NF

April Newsletter 2020

It is Spring time. Greetings. Brighter days, blossom and flowers coming up, remind us that it is spring and although Coronavirus occupies the airwaves and causes us all to be careful and mindful of folk risking their lives in Hospitals and the community, it is good to be know that seasons like God do not change. Punu Dyang Punu Dyang, the tiny health centre started from scratch in the jungle in 2017 as a satellite from Oberabic, continues to meet the needs of the local population with large numbers attending the clinic and outreach to such an extent that it is now proposed to build a 4 roomed unit. Local folk have made and donated 10,000 bricks (see picture). We sent some money to try to get the foundations built ahead of Coronavirus restrictions but were too late. The money is now being used for medicines Annual Report Nick, (Dr Nicolas Laing) produced an amazing annual report with a huge amount of detail . It was very positive. Oberabic continues to do well and was able both to serve their population and enhance their finances through a USAid maternity project. The maternity unit was such a good investment. Thank you to donors. The USAid project has now ceased. As mentioned above the satellite clinic from Oberabic, (Punu Dyang) is doing amazingly well. The other clinic we support though nurse funding in Awere is also thriving clinically. Personel Fiona - Administrator Fiona recently had her first child. We wish her well (and Nick’s survival) through her maternity leave. Les and Sylvia Carter Not mentioned before but Les and Sylvia had to resign as trustees on account of Les’ ill health and sadly Les has subsequently died. He was a gracious caring man who embraced the aims of Gulu Connection and acted very efficiently as financial officer. Although Les passed some time ago we send our condolences to Sylvia who also served as trustee with compassion and great proficiency in her role as secretary to the Charity. Thanks Thank you everybody for being part of the Gulu Connection family; for praying, for giving and also for using Give as you Live, the website that enables us to receive money through any online purchases supporters make... Please do use this. If you would like any advice, please send an email. Thank you again for standing with us as we seek to support the health care team in Uganda With warmest appreciation Gemma and Pete On behalf of NOCF IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO HELP... You can donate by : Bank transfer and adding your name as reference. Account Name. NOCF Account number : 00190468 Sort code: 30-90-95 Or by making a cheque payable to Nechells and Overseas Care Fund and then sending it to the following address : Mr Peter Hill - Charity Administrator 47 Heneage Street Nechells Birmingham B7 4NF If you would prefer not to receive our emails – please reply with unsubscribe in the subject line

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