Here lies a little princess called Lovinsa Ampaire on her hospital bed. She narrates the ordeal of how her family got involved in a fire burn as a result of petrol that the father used to sell to sustain his family. She is aged 10 years and of a school going age, but with an adult mind that always welcomes Caring Hands team to her bed side.

Lovinsa explains us how the entire family was inside the house at the night of the phenomenon because the father prepared the next day’s sales at that time. He usually filled all empty containers with petrol that he sold during day to cater for his family’s needs. She narrates that the kind of light in her village is the local candle (‘Ttadoba’). In her late father’s home, it was always raised on a pole in the middle of the house. Unfortunately, that night the lamp came off the pole and landed on the ground where her father was refilling from the containers and immediately the house caught fire. She says,

“We were unable to rescue ourselves apart from my follower Ssekyanja Muzafaru aged 6yrs who run and alerted the neighbors. Hardly had they come to our rescue when the fire burnt the whole house. The good Samaritans took us to Mubende hospital, and we found ourselves in the hands of doctors (‘Abasawo’) who immediately treated us.”

Lovinsa further narrates that a day after admission in Mubende hospital, they were referred to Mulago hospital,

“I was so much burnt, but our mother, the late Nshamiriwe Loy, father, late Kivumbi Ssemanga and my two siblings were seriously burnt in that after a couple of hours they passed away. Little did I know there would be life after losing my parents and siblings until Caring Hands Foundation came to my rescue, giving me hope in my hopeless state of not hoping to have a family again. The medical team in Mulago hospital ward (2C) has also added another limb to my life through caring about my wounds by dressing them now and then, giving me medication and putting back a smile on my face. Not forgetting Caring Hands Foundation, they have always given me a huge smile by sometimes feeding me on chicken and eggs, thus making my day fabulous. Thank you so much for loving me and every effort you have given me physically, socially, spiritually. Your care has made me acknowledge that I still have a future to live. Truly, I believe God loves me since I used to go to church with my mother who was a Born Again though my father and other siblings were Muslim. Therefore my dream is to be a doctor, since doctors and nurses did their best to see that I am what I am today. I would love to give the same care to all those that will land in my hands. I also thank so much my uncle and his wife for taking care of me in the hospital. This is the new family I am getting into when discharged from hospital. Thank you so much Caring Hands Foundation staff for that loving spirit and care that you have given me, May God bless you. (‘Mukama abawe omukisa’)”

Africa is beautiful continent full of God’s blessing and the climate is very favorable. What the western countries love about it, is its lovely wildlife industry. However, there is a quite challenging kind of life that most Africans go through especially were resources are too minimal to support one’s household.

As life is a journey, the bible states that all of us are moving to our destination at one moment.

Peace Nattawa, a 20year old woman came from Butalejja in Mbale District with a swelling in the face that covered her nose and mouth. She had had it for 3months. This swelling started as a tinny pimple that progressively developed into a huge swelling. She and her family sought help from a variety of health care centers but in vain until when they decided to seek a specialist’s advice. From speaking to her and seeing Peace’s photos taken before the disfigured face set in, one can tell what a beautiful young woman she is. Aside from the pain, stress from stigma is killing her on the inside. In addition to being grounded in the hospital, none of her schoolmates or friends from back home has paid a visit or endeavored to call to find out how she is doing. Her stress has been passed on to the care takers/ attendants despite our effort to provide care, counsel them all and promise that things will be fine even when we are unsure of what’s going to happen next. How wish we could do something? It’s not unusual for us as social and health workers to get depressed as well.

Life offers many surprises which are both good and bad but living under the cross of generational poverty is the worst, because even the basic needs of life become only wishes. Peace’s condition shouldn’t have escalated to this stage, and she should have already been treated by now had she been informed or had informed parents. Basic healthcare is a challenge in a resource limited environment. Under such circumstances, it can take ages before a patient finally is referred to an appropriate specialist. It seems all the forces of failure are at working overtime under these circumstances

Despite the unfailing love of a mother, Peace has lost hope that she cannot acknowledge her mother’s support during this trying moment. She believes she is unlucky and frustrated over not living the life she dreamed as child.

This tumor has disfigured her feminine feature that her mouth is almost none existing. Luckily, she has no trouble feeding but the tumor is fungating with a terrible smell.

Caring Hands got to know about Peace two days before her admission in Mulago Hospital. The doctors are ordering several investigations, CT SCAN, ABNORMAL SCAN AND CHEST X-RAY whose bills have to be taken care of by Caring Hands. We hope that the cause of the problem is identified with no metastasis in order to carry out a surgery. Peace needs her face revamped. Discussing all possibilities of restoration have rekindled her hope. She is very grateful to Caring Hands and to everybody who directly or indirectly has contributed to her well being.

This is one of the cases among the many patients we as Caring Hands Foundation are taking care of. We will keep you updated as events unfold.

The team traveled to Kasensero on the 31st May to set up the camp for the following day. Our team was made up of over 50 members coming from Kampala, the USA, and the Rakai district. Accommodations were obtained in the local lodges and meals were catered by a local restaurant. On the day of arrival, the team met for a second briefing where we met the Rakai district team for the first time. Allocation of different tasks and responsibilities were discussed under the cover of darkness and a moonlit sky. Continue reading “Recap of 2012 Medical Camp” →