Business

---

O.K, travel blog time.

Today I will be doing things slightly different, instead of starting with tales from the village etc I will start with ‘business’. The reason being some very exiting things have happened regarding the work side of our stay in Uganda in the past 4-5 weeks since I last wrote. I like to think the reason it has been so long since my last entry is that I have been rather busy with work, that and the fact I can be a bit lazy and tend to spend my time on the net looking up sport results.

Celeste has provided you all with a glimpse of what has been going on in her last entry so once more I may be repeating a few things.

Adelaide - Mbale Community Health Fund

Approximately 6 weeks ago I had an experience which effected me rather strongly, I was just starting to think that I was becoming hard and apathetic, after all I think that is what often happens to us all the more we are exposed to ugly situations the more we become accustomed to them and they just become our normal reality (maybe?). Anyway both myself and Celeste visited Mbale regional public hospital to try and get Geoffrey seen to for the first time. Overcrowded understaffed all kinds of very disturbing things which basically made me want to jump on the first plane and get the --- out of there (example a very ill elderly man being straped to a motor bike to return home he was to weak to hold his own weight up, and he was fortunate enough o be able to know someone who owned or to be able to afford to hire a motorbike). Writing this is starting to bring back those feelings it was nasty!

Fortunately after a day or two such feelings turned to what we could do to improve the situation. Basically because the hospital is so crowded and so poorly run the average joe really does have to wait for all planets to align before they may be fortunate enough to be seen and treated. The majority of the rural villages that FDNC workers with do not posses the capacity to get them self’s treated, they do not feel that professional medical care is an option, either that it exists or that they can afford it, basically if you are sick you live with it, needless to say there are some pretty hard folks around you have to be.

So basically we thought that if we can identify very ill in need patients with our help maybe together we can get them treated and really change their lives.

The details
FDNC works with approximately 25 small regional villages within a 45 minute drive from Mbale. In each target village/community FDNC has at least one community health worker who all meet with FDNC once a month and sometimes receive training, these health workers are all residents of the community which they represent.

Via such community health workers as well as local patients who come directly into the FDNC health clinic we hope to identify seriously ill patients who without the intervention of the Adelaide -Mbale regional health fund would most probably never be treated and live a very short and painful life.

Once such patients have been identified the clinical officer of the FDNC health clinic will take full responsibility for making sure the identified patient receives the required treatment.

It has been solely down to the generosity of your kind selves that we have had the money to establish this program as well as the infrastructure and management of FDNC that the money will be used solely for medical care of the most in need individuals.

We have pledged 1 million Ugandan Shillings ($700Aus) per 3 month period for this program for a minimum of one year. With the donation money already raised this program can currently run until January 2008 ( 3 quarters). Thus we will be fundraising when we return home to ensure this program continues, if anyone has any ideas for fundraising or knows of someone who would like to contribute please contact either Celeste or myself via e-mail.

Continued funding is dependent on a full and detailed financial equital every quarter. This equital will take the form of FDNC providing Celeste and myself with full patient case notes and receipts for all monies spent every three months.

We anticipate to treat approximately 4 individuals per quarter based on the two patients we have already treated. The total cost for all medical work which has be done to Geoffrey so far totals aprox $250 AUS, I am defiantly no doctor but he had some really serious stuff done, additionally we recently facilitated and paid for the removal of a hernia from a 19 year old disabled man called martin this cost aprox $100 AUS (hospital bed, operation, medicines everything).

So basically that it exiting program number one.

FDNC Youth Sports Program

In many of the 25 target communities FDNC works with there is a substantial problem of ‘idleness’ among 14-20 year olds (not exclusively but this is the core age bracket) primary school up to 13 years of age is compulsory and free, secondary school is neither compulsory and expensive, employment in the sense we are accustomed to is basically non-existent, hence idleness. Many adolescence loose confidence and self worth resulting in drinking and general anti-social behaviour. I

It was the aim of the FDNC sports program to give a positive focus to the lives of these young people. As Celeste briefly pointed out I have been very busy for the past 6 weeks being the founder of the FDNC sports program. At this stage I have established to ongoing soccer competitions one of 12 teams and the other of 14 engaging over 300 otherwise very bored young men.

The whole process has understandable been very difficult and frustrating but I am pleased to say that the first 3 rounds of competition were a huge success (in total each competition will be 16 weeks in duration) ( I believe there have been some pics on the blog).

I have also ensured there is the infrastructure in place at FDNC to run the program for a very long time after my departure. When I say infrastructure I mean the personal to mange the program and the direction as to how the program should be run. At this stage what FDNC are lacking is the financial resources to expand the program.

It was once more through the generosity of your kind selves that I was able to establish the FDNC sports program and set up the first two leagues. Basically the way it works is once the start up capital for the first competition has been raised the competition fromthat point on is self-sustaining through participant registration fees. It cost approximately $200 AUS to buy all the equipment etc to organise the first competition for a league.

So basically for $200 bucks FDNC can start a sport competition which can and will sustain itself for many years to come, each competition has it’s own set of trophies and each league could be named after the founding donor?

If anyone is interested once more contact myself or Celeste via e-mail or contact the FDNC CEO directly via e-mail (you will have to get that from the FDNC website).

Any way I am running out of internet time and Ugandan time come to that, I have only 15 hours left in the country before I jump on my 11 hour bus ride to Nairobi from were I fly to Italy from on Tuesday May 1.

I am a little stressed and consumed by this as those who know the story are aware that this is a pretty big deal for myself and not a relaxing holiday by any means.

I know the blogs have been few but I hope to do at least one more documenting some of the weird, wonderful, frustrating and unusual experiences I have had in Uganda sometime after I have arrived in Italy.

Ciao.
Luke and Celeste.

---

Comments

[Jenny Loveder]

What's in Italy for you Luke? I lived there for a couple of years, many years ago, and love the place, its people, its beauty, its generosity, and its food. Have fun!

[Luke and Molly]

Great Blog!
Hey Luke... Wachinyala Sir! Thinking of you, Molly xx