WEEK 2
SaltPeter Trust Visit to Uganda November 2017 Week 2
After a busy 10 days with Mark & Marian Vaughan, we returned to Mbale via Kachumbala Maternity Unit to monitor progress. Joana Capela, an EFOD volunteer has been helping to finish off the painting and to order furniture made by local carpenters. The Centre is looking good.
After a busy 10 days with Mark & Marian Vaughan, we returned to Mbale via Kachumbala Maternity Unit to monitor progress. Joana Capela, an EFOD volunteer has been helping to finish off the painting and to order furniture made by local carpenters. The Centre is looking good.
Furniture from a medical supplier has now been delivered and awaits assembly, together with some of the wooden furniture made for us at the hospital in Mbale. The grounds are being tidied, a disabled ramp cast, and signs painted, all in readiness for Thursday 2 November when the Ugandan Minister of Health, Dr Acheng Jane comes to cut the tape and make a marked improvement on the current maternity provision.
A week ago we went up the mountain above Mbale to visit the coffee gardens, and see the quite laborious process to bring us top grade Zukuka Bora coffee. Ripe coffee cherries picked at dawn need to be processed that same day.
Dave’s team buy from peasant farmers with coffee gardens at lunchtime. Remove the flesh in a pulping machine, now diesel powered before soaking in large baths for 36 hours to clean the kernel, and then drying for 15 to 20 days in drying racks in temporary drying sheds built this year.
Once dry there’s a hulling process to remove the shell, which finally yields 2 coffee beans, before a roasting process to make it fit for us to drink.
WEEK 1
Uganda trip October 2017
We travelled well on a 36 hour journey to abundant Mbale last week, over the Nile flowing through the barren Sahara, and enjoyed a break with Dave and Anna before moving on to Soroti over the weekend.
We have been working with staff of the Soroti Baptist Medical Centre, built by EFOD in 2005-9, and opened in 2010. It has had its ups and downs since then, but aims to provide good quality medical care at an affordable price to those in Soroti and the surrounding areas. There is a staff of 14, and major changes at the end of 2016 meant the Centre was not functioning well when we visited in February 17.
We have been working with staff of the Soroti Baptist Medical Centre, built by EFOD in 2005-9, and opened in 2010. It has had its ups and downs since then, but aims to provide good quality medical care at an affordable price to those in Soroti and the surrounding areas. There is a staff of 14, and major changes at the end of 2016 meant the Centre was not functioning well when we visited in February 17.
We returned with Dr Mark and Marian Vaughan from Llanelli. Together with Dr Joan Drayton and Linda Hampton, they had suggested some improved procedures for patient care during our last visit earlier in the year. We are delighted to have seen many improvements since then, and to discover we now have a very happy staff following the departure of some senior staff. Whilst patient numbers are still low, the Centre is spick and span, a testament to Roger Hampton's excellent work painting in January, and the local staff who have worked hard to keep it so clean . George, our Administrator for the last year has worked hard to ensure the finances are under control, equipment repaired, and debts left by the previous management are almost clear. In January we were concerned the Centre may not survive, this time we left confident we have a real future.
Earlier in the year we visited 7 child development projects to thank them for using the Centre to treat their children, and urge them to allow us to undertake the annual screening programme of each of their 300 children. This would provide the Centre with a steady income, and ensure continuity of care for the children. We returned to speak to 5 of them, and were pleased to discover increased use of the Centre and a desire to work more closely together.
During the week we started to develop plans for the future of the Medical Centre. With 300 children in each Development project, we have the potential to access to 2100 families, so almost 15,000 people mainly in peasant farming communities. A coordinated programme of screening, worming and ensuring we can find and inoculate all who miss the Government inoculation programmes could have a significant effect on the health of a number of villages in Teso. Add improvements to the services offered by Soroti Baptist Medical Centre, with increased staff levels and equipment, and with the current management team, we believe the Centre can achieve its initial objective. This is a huge challenge needing a significant investment, so I feel several grant applications for medical support will be necessary before the end of the year.
Some will have met Pastor Sam Eibu through visits here, or preaching in Ainon, we teased that he had 6 ends to his sermon in 2005. He was inaugurated as Bishop of 240 Baptist churches in Teso in November 2016, Helen & I came out to join the celebrations. He has worked extremely hard since then, improving the skills of leaders, too hard it seems. 8 weeks ago he had a brain hemorrhage, was unconscious for 5 days, and has been extremely ill. The churches rallied round to raise funds and to pray. When he didn't improve, the leaders called for more prayer. He had a scan confirming a significant bleed in the brain. Dr Mark saw the scan last Sunday when we went to visit Sam, now at home recuperating. He was tired but recovering steadily, no loss of speech, memory or movement, truly remarkable, Dr Mark advised us that he would not have expected survival with such a large bleed, and considers Sam's recovery to be a miracle. Prayer works. Sam is at signed off work for another 2 months, but he sends greetings to you all.
Our attention now turns to Kachumbala Health Centre 3 Maternity Unit, built over the last 2 years by engineers and apprenticed from EFOD South West Wales, our other charity. Final plumbing, electrics and paining touch up is ongoing, together with cleaning. The furniture is due for delivery on Monday, and more needs to be made locally, ready for a formal opening by the Minister of Health from Kampala on Thursday 2 November. Thankfully there's a volunteer from EFOD working here so we have help. Dan, our son, has been the Architect for the scheme, and 2 of his colleagues from the US head office of his practice will join us, together with the EFOD SWW management team, so there's still lots to do.
Some will have met Pastor Sam Eibu through visits here, or preaching in Ainon, we teased that he had 6 ends to his sermon in 2005. He was inaugurated as Bishop of 240 Baptist churches in Teso in November 2016, Helen & I came out to join the celebrations. He has worked extremely hard since then, improving the skills of leaders, too hard it seems. 8 weeks ago he had a brain hemorrhage, was unconscious for 5 days, and has been extremely ill. The churches rallied round to raise funds and to pray. When he didn't improve, the leaders called for more prayer. He had a scan confirming a significant bleed in the brain. Dr Mark saw the scan last Sunday when we went to visit Sam, now at home recuperating. He was tired but recovering steadily, no loss of speech, memory or movement, truly remarkable, Dr Mark advised us that he would not have expected survival with such a large bleed, and considers Sam's recovery to be a miracle. Prayer works. Sam is at signed off work for another 2 months, but he sends greetings to you all.
Our attention now turns to Kachumbala Health Centre 3 Maternity Unit, built over the last 2 years by engineers and apprenticed from EFOD South West Wales, our other charity. Final plumbing, electrics and paining touch up is ongoing, together with cleaning. The furniture is due for delivery on Monday, and more needs to be made locally, ready for a formal opening by the Minister of Health from Kampala on Thursday 2 November. Thankfully there's a volunteer from EFOD working here so we have help. Dan, our son, has been the Architect for the scheme, and 2 of his colleagues from the US head office of his practice will join us, together with the EFOD SWW management team, so there's still lots to do.
We also plan a visit to the coffee gardens 1800ft above Mbale to see the work of Zukuka Bora. The harvest started early so Dave hopes to have the first fruits roasted in time for us to return to restock.
The Lord has been with us this far, and we are so grateful to Him for this.
And a final thanks to all of you who support the work of SaltPeter Trust in prayer and financially.
Hopefully there will be more reports as our trip progresses.
Ian & Helen
The Lord has been with us this far, and we are so grateful to Him for this.
And a final thanks to all of you who support the work of SaltPeter Trust in prayer and financially.
Hopefully there will be more reports as our trip progresses.
Ian & Helen