ANOTHER PICTURE THAT TELLS A STORY
You can help - It's Easy.
A little of your time will go a long way. 

Africa is different from the UK. We are normally fit and can resist most diseases. When illness does break through, there is the NHS

In Africa malnutrition and poor hygiene means small illnesses often become major  - and when they do there is little medical cover. 

So this lad. He was wandering around outside a health centre. His eye swelling was so gross, I was not sure what it was - then the penny dropped -  Conjunctivitis - with a lot of rubbing with grubby hands. In the UK a whiff of drops. In Africa rubbing and infection can lead to Trachoma then blindness. It is so unfair!! 

Our project is working in Uganda so more lads can get advice and drops and not go blind. 

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And you can help by:

• Joining Give As You Live. It's an easy way to do your shopping online while supporting us without cost to yourselves. Here is the link : Click here 
• Joining the Give a Little; Get a Lot campaign.
• Recycling your used printer cartridges in our envelopes

For details and other ideas, please click this link

HOW TO HELP

also SKILLS

Update

UK Money is making a difference. The office is totally dependent on our funding and now we have increasing opportunities to save lives by upgrading Oberabic further.

We have some skills help in the UK. It would be great to have more. 

Here are four money raising ideas.

Idea 1 - Recycle Printer Cartridge

So simple. So effective. Please put your used printer cartridges in one of our envelopes. We can send one to you if you give our address or you can order direct from the charity recycle firm by clicking this link.. www.recycle4charity.co.uk/Register/C59069

Toners. If you have access to these, please let us know so we can arrange collection.

Idea 2 - Give a Little;Get a Lot. 

We give a little; They get a lot! Be a hero and save lives. Please consider setting up a standing order for £1.00/month. It will make a big difference to us. It takes a little time; please do it now!

Details

• Bank TSB
• Sort: 30 - 90 - 95
• Account No: 0190468
• Name: Nechells and Overseas Care Fund (NOCF)

If you would like to gift aid your donation please print this form (Form Here) and post or scan it back to us . If you don't have time for the gift aid, skip it and  just complete the donation  -  please.

Idea 3 - Charity Choice
If you prefer to give a one off by credit card
please click this link (Link)  Donation button
is yellow, top right of page. Gift aid can be
organised through the site.

Idea 4 - Advocacy

How about that MAD thing -- Making A Difference. Would you be willing to ask your friends and contacts to recycle their spent printer cartridges for us?. My dentist and tennis club are onto it -  Church next. Could you do it? We can send you our leaflet if you ask on dnuds321@gmail.com.. It outlines the used printer idea an also our needs.

And we also need help with skills

Idea 5 - skills

We really need help with

• IT to produce this blog, letters and eventually website
• Fund raising. People with skills and time to help us with this.
• People able to go to visit Uganda: to take photo’s, do reports, to build, to administer, doctors, nurses.

We are working on other ideas

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MAIN BENEFICIARY -Oberabic Health Centre

Main Beneficiary - Oberabic Health Centre -            Main Need  - Solar for fridge and light                                                                                                                                for Night Deliveries

Oberabic Health Centre.

£5000 needed.

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For details on how and why to help please click this  link

OBERABIC HEALTH CENTRE ll REPORT
AUGUST 2014

Acting Diocesan Health coordinator Paska Aciro and Project support officer Maxwell Okot recently visited and sent this update

                         Good the Team is There!

Sadness. Paska wrote, “This Picture shows a mother with 

her child being treated when he was beaten by his aunt.  The mother

 did not bring the child immediately and so he stayed for

 3 days without urinating. This arises as a result  of poor education 

which makes them not realise  the importance of visiting the Health 

facility in  case of any health problems.

                                                  Education

Consultations are often delayed through ignorance but the 
Health Centre team is undertaking new education sessions
 that we that we are funding

                                                        
                                                       
SAVING LIVES

Maternity Service

Paska sent these photos (below) and said, The mother with a young child at her back, pregnant with another little one demonstrate the results of very limited health care. However, with constant sensitization (Uganda speak for health education) and abolition of Traditional Birth Attendants, mothers have realised the importance of Antenatal visits.

 

.Maternal Mortality

Is about 40 times 

higher in our area

than in the UK

 SAVING MORE LIVES

Family Planning

There is virtually none in our area leading to multiple births and large families resulting in: poor nutrition, poor education and likelihood of being orphaned. A personal and demographic disaster.

 Long term methods are organised and subsidised

 by Marie Stopes – Blue Star programme. The health

 education that we are funding will promote family planning

None of our patient’s 

pregnancies are planned”

LOCAL MIDWIFE

The Situation

In her report Paska reminded us of the population’s poverty and the Health Centre team's action to improve health care. She sent these photo's

 It’s Grim

Aaah lovely picture!  - but - Smiling faces and the quaintness of mud huts cannot hide the daily grind of living with no electricity, no nearby water, dreadful nutrition, overlarge families and often alcoholic men

 Making a Difference

Paska said, “, I chatted with this lady who is very impressed with the positive things about Oberabic HC II, like the facility is easily accessible, drugs are available,, the staff are welcoming. She gets treated at low cost and she also expressed her happiness for new midwife who has made delivery very good.

(Much) More to Do

In addition, she expressed her negative feelings on the health facility, such as there is no delivery equipment There is also no Electricity and this makes it very difficult for deliveries. There are also stock outs for some essentials drugs sometimes which put patient’s lives at risk.

What you/we have provided recently

·         Oct 2013 – Vaccine Fridge- Oct 13 (Picture)

·         July. Medicines £1,200

·         July – Equipment - £200

·         August. Delivery Bed - £450. The bed in last 

      blog was procedure bed - not delivery bed.

·         August. - Repair to water bore hole -£150

·         August – Patient beds x 2 £150

SOLAR -What we need.

What is Next?

Solar Needed

The next big need is solar power for the vaccination fridge and provide light for deliveries at night.

Let’s  work together to get it.

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Please Help us Develop Oberabic Health Centre

• Please recycle your used printer cartridges in our envelopes
• Please consider the £1.00 month campaign. 

For details and other ideas, please click this link

WELCOME GEMMA
Blog is Back

Thank you for checking the Blog. Many apologies for the delay in postings. We are  back now and will aim to keep up to speed now we have Gemma working in the the UK.

It is Office to Office. Paska and Maxwell in Uganda (what a neat office!) in frequent contact via e-mail and phone

 

Work continues as normal - See "Normal Day at the Office" post below

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Can you Help? Can you Give?

Some Ideas on How you can help including giving money. Please click this link

TRANSFORMATION

St Philips Health Centre

Amazing Progress - Changing Lives

50 years ago both  the Roman Catholics and Anglicans opened small health Centres. Now the Roman catholic Unit has become Lacor hospital with 480 beds and three satellite units.

The Anglican unit is St Philips Health Centre which 3 years ago was struggling with the outside paint disguising the termite attacked inside. The unit was staffed by clinical officer Otika in his seventies and Nurse Assistant Christine who never had basic training. Very few patients were seen and the medical standards were poor.

Nurse Christine

St Philips Health Centre

Clinical Officer Otika

Outreach with infant immunisations and child surveillance was better.

Reforms and Finance

We introduced reforms in structure and staffing and now things are very different. Otika has retired with UK subsidised pension,  and been replaced by Diana (picture) young, experienced and dynamic Clinical Officer. In addition there is a trained nurse, new nurse assistant, laboratory assistant (picture) and a further multitask worker. The Diocesan office organised the changes and financed the initial moves. 

St Philips has now attracted funds from the British funded Northern Ugandan Health Programme, and is now massively busy - 888 new patients in January 2014 and 1173 in February. (Apologies report is so late!)

I regret the recent photos showing progress have not downloaded. However we can say that the building has been significantly improved including the erection of a new latrine block. 

Where Now?

We are proud of the part we have played in St Philip's transformation. The unit is increasingly self organised and is fully financially independent. We are willing to help when invited and although we do not agree with some of their decisions, we wish them well in further development. Maybe, they  will add maternity and inpatients in the medium term future. 

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Can you help, can you give, towards the work we do for units like St Philips?

• Please recycle your used printer cartridges in our envelopes
• Please consider the £1.00 month campaign. 

For details and other ideas, please click this link