Adventist Help in Uganda
AdventistHelp was founded in 2015 as a medical humanitarian
initiative in response to the overwhelming refugee crisis in the Middle
East at the time.
Our first major project was to provide an emergency
mobile medical unit for refugees crossing the dangerous channel from
Turkey into Greece. This was a life-changing experience.
In a
brief history: “We
treated thousands of patients in our bus clinic on the beachfront in
Skala Sykamineas. This was one of our most challenging projects. From
pulling drowning refugees out of capsized boats, to resuscitating near
drowned children on restaurant tables, with thousands of men, women and
children arriving on our beachfront daily—this assignment changed us
all.”
Since that time, the organization has continued to seek out
vulnerable areas and set up clinics to deliver high quality medical care
in disaster-stricken areas and refugee settlements.
We talked
with Michael-John von Hörsten, a medical doctor and one of the long-term
AdventistHelp volunteers, to learn more about their latest effort.
ANN: Please, tell us about your newest project.
Michael-John von Hörsten: AdventistHelp and ADRA are partnering to construct a field hospital in the Kyaka II Refugee Settlement. It’s a rapidly enlarging population of over 100 thousand Congolese refugees fleeing the fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The refugee settlement stretches nearly 82 kilometers, covering three sub-counties in western Uganda.
Michael-John von Hörsten: AdventistHelp and ADRA are partnering to construct a field hospital in the Kyaka II Refugee Settlement. It’s a rapidly enlarging population of over 100 thousand Congolese refugees fleeing the fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The refugee settlement stretches nearly 82 kilometers, covering three sub-counties in western Uganda.
We’re
building an emergency and inpatient facility covering a big health gap
in the region. This stand-alone facility will house an outpatient block
providing primary care, dental services and physiotherapy. There will
also be an emergency block with a lab, ultrasound unit and X-ray. This
the first phase. As funding allows, the second phase will include wards
and an operating room.
We hope to have Phase 1 open and functioning by next month.
ANN: Who are you specifically working with?
We’ll be providing health services to the refugees in the camp as well as the host community.
ANN: What drew you to this region?
We
were invited by Charles Aguilar, the country director of ADRA Uganda,
to partner with them to set up a health facility in the area.
ANN: How many volunteers do you have working with you?
ANN: How many volunteers do you have working with you?
We
have a steady stream of international doctors and nurses working on our
projects. We had over 150 on our last project in Iraq, and this will be
no different. The international volunteers complement a core local
medical team who will operate the facility.
ANN: How many people are you expecting to serve in this facility?
ANN: How many people are you expecting to serve in this facility?
We believe it will be even busier than the Iraq clinic which saw over 50 thousand patients.
ANN: What is your biggest need right now?
ANN: What is your biggest need right now?
We
need your prayers. It’s quite a big work lying ahead! Also if you’re a
medical professional and are keen to volunteer with us, please contact
us at volunteers@adventisthelp.org.
It’s life changing work! Lastly, there are many gaps we’re still trying
to fund, ranging from walkways to lab items, to malaria medicines. If
you’re interested in donating, please contact us at info@adventisthelp.org.
ANN: What motivates you to continue these projects?
ANN: What motivates you to continue these projects?
We’re
all volunteers out here. Our patients are what keep us here. Being able
to help save lives and provide crucial services to vulnerable
populations is such a privilege for all of us.
Things are slowly falling into place with the field hospital in Kyaka 2 refugee settlement. The need is enormous - it’s apparently now the fasting growing refugee settlement in Africa, population is well over 100 thousand.
Many of the children living in the huts around the hospital have severe malnutrition and malaria.
The hospital building is nearly finished, our shipments of medical equipment from Ireland, Netherlands and China will hopefully be clearing customs this week (at last!) and will be at site soon.
Our site team have had an awesome week of training by management consultant Wiebe Nijdam, and worked on formulating hospital processes and the computer systems. Thank you Wiebe for your constribution!
Are you interested in getting involved? Right now we’re working on one last shipment from Netherlands - we’re shipping in the X-ray unit that was already donated, but still need to purchase more cots and lab machines from the EU. It’s far cheaper than buying locally. We need to fill the container before we send it so we’ve lumped all our needs into one fundraiser. If you’d like to sponsor any item it’s all on this link:
https://gogetfunding.com/
Adventist Help Team
https://gogetfunding.com/
