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Jessica Colin-Greene Jerome Schwab hasn't added a story.
We are seeking donations to fund a 2-day mobile health clinic in Pajule, northern Uganda. We are working in conjunction with a registered community-based organization, PASEVI, and a Ugandan doctor, John Yiga, to coordinate the medical clinic and mobilize the community. This is truly a grassroots endeavor, and will contribute to community-building and development efforts in the target area. 100% of your donations will be used to support the health clinic; Jerry and I will be paying for our own travel, room and board so that donations can go to where support is needed the most.
The doctors joining us are accustomed to working in overwhelming conditions, and have extensive experience treating large numbers of patients in a short period of time. In Uganda, a doctor can often expect to be the only one on-call at any given clinic, and is therefore trained to multitask. With a number of doctors participating in this mobile health clinic, confidence is high that doctors will be available to those who wish to be seen and treated. Many of the illnesses that we expect to see are easily identifiable, giving the doctors ample time to focus on more difficult cases as needed. All of us are committed to working around the clock to serve as many people as possible.
What can we accomplish in a mere 2 days? Certainly, we cannot treat the social determinants of disease, such as oppression and marginalization, in so short a time. But we can contribute to the solution. The Red Cross is not in Pajule, and neither is Save the Children. This is the type of community that is rendered invisible after a violent conflict. This mobile health clinic will bring attention to Pajule, and will let the community know that they have not been forgotten, that they are worthy and valued. This is also an opportunity to support community-based organizations like PASEVI and Ugandan doctors like John Yiga, whose presence in a place like Pajule contributes to the possibility of improved health care access, and also to the spirit of nation building. All of the doctors and nurses attending are Ugandan, which will be a very empowering sight for villagers.
Jerry and I will be on the ground to assist in any way we can with the activities of the mobile health clinic, and to ensure that the doctors and nurses are appropriately compensated, transported, fed, and housed while in Pajule. With your help, we can work together to be a resource for our friends George and Julius of PASEVI, for Dr. John Yiga, and for the people of Pajule.
Together our donations will buy enough medicines and supplies for 1000 people, as well as pay, transport, feed, and house the doctors, nurses, and coordinators who are traveling to Pajule to do this good work.
To learn more about our story, please read on:
I have shared with many of you that last year I spent 4 months in northern Uganda learning about the effects of violent civil conflict on vulnerable rural communities. Some may already be familiar with the sensationalized stories of Joseph Kony, his Lord’s Resistance Army, and the scores of child soldiers forced to commit heinous acts under threat of torture and death. These sensationalized stories are true. But what we never hear about, what the news stories never mention, is that this war decimated an entire region in northern Uganda, and has left many people displaced and destitute to this day. The rebel army has moved on to other countries in East and Central Africa, but the havoc it wreaked in Acholi sub-region remains largely unaddressed.
During the course of my research on post-conflict transformation for extremely vulnerable individuals and communities, I happened upon a local organization called Pader Support to Extremely Vulnerable Initiatives (PASEVI). PASEVI was started by two incredible young men, George and Julius, who both grew up in displaced persons camps. George and Julius were abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army and subsequently rescued. The two were then able to continue their education and to do some pretty amazing things. George and Julius came home to Pajule, in rural Pader District, with the express purpose of helping to rebuild what had been lost and destroyed. PASEVI builds homesteads for vulnerable individuals and families that are still displaced, such as orphans, frail elderly persons, and landmine victims. In addition, PASEVI supports agricultural cooperatives that provide food security for those who would otherwise go without. PASEVI hopes to do more as resources increase, like building access roads and delivering clean water and sanitation. Their home village of Pajule is still lacking these very basic necessities. Both young men are intelligent and capable, but they lack vital resources to carry out their work.
On the other end of Uganda in the far southwest, Jerry met Dr. John Yiga while volunteering at Rushere Hospital. Dr. Yiga is exceptionally bright and motivated, and wants to use his skills to help his fellow countrymen up north. Dr. Yiga went to Gulu University in northern Uganda, and is all too familiar with the destitution in that region. Dr. Yiga made a bold suggestion that we coordinate a mobile health clinic for the most vulnerable communities in Acholi sub-region, so Jerry and I connected Dr. Yiga with George and Julius in Pajule. Together, the three young men are working hard to mobilize the community and coordinate a 2-day mobile health clinic that will serve the destitute from 19-20 July, 2013. Dr. Yiga intends to bring along 6 doctors and 6 nurses to provide care for the patients. It is expected that we will receive up to 500 patients a day for 2 days. With so many people in need, we do not want to have to turn anybody away so long as we have the resources and the manpower to serve them.
Unfortunately, there is no medical care in Pajule. Common diseases in the region are tuberculosis, malaria, HIV/AIDS, diarrhea, bacterial infections, and tumors. The doctors will perform needed surgeries throughout the 2-day event. It is an ambitious project, but Dr. Yiga assures us that it can and will be done to the very best of his and his fellow physicians’ abilities.
What we urgently need are donations to fund this project.
Please support our mobile health clinic.
Warmly,
Jess & Jerry
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