MUKO CLINIC STORY

Sixteen years ago, during a conference held in Uganda, a Newcastle couple, Betty & Arthur Shepherd made contact with Bishop Erasmus Bityrabeo; he invited them to visit his home village after the conference, (a road trip of eight hours away!). During that visit they were touched by the warmth and generosity of the people, and the beauty of the place. Muko, a parish of seven villages is set in a hilly area near some beautiful lakes near the border with Rwanda and DR Congo.

Eight years ago, Betty visited the parish again; she noted the need for a health clinic, as the terrain between villages was difficult and not suitable for vehicles. In the event of a medical emergency, people had to walk or be carried for at least an hour to reach the central village, which in turn is an hour by road to the nearest hospital in Kabaale. There was no public transport and many people suffered or died for lack of local health care and available transport. Rev. Joshua Owoyesiga, the parish priest had seen the need also; he had tried to set up a small clinic in a room of a house, it had no equipment and was not suitable for inpatients. Betty purchased an off-road motor-bike to assist him in his visiting to the outer villages.

The clinic idea was brought to the fore a few years ago after a small mission team of Grainery men went to Muko to assist with the completion of a school building.

 The launch of HealthServe around that time prompted me to think that a partnership between The Grainery and HealthServe could work, allowing us to tap into the expertise of those who have worked in the Third World, and offer tax-deductibility for donations. Michael & Jean Burke came up one weekend to meet those interested, and as ones who had worked in Africa, commended the project to the congregation.

Over the next 12 months, I began to research the needs of Muko, (it is amazing what can be learned from the internet); the Government of Uganda, Ministry of Health (MoH) website was very useful and Google Maps allows one to virtually visit the village, seeing buildings, roads, proximity to towns etc. Well developed health targets, reporting systems, infra-structure inventories & plans were accessible on the MoH website, and clearly a clinic at Muko was needed, verifiable as one of the ‘gaps in infra-structure’. In Uganda, some 50% of infrastructure is provided by the NGOs, and the Government of Uganda undertakes to gradually take over recurrent costs (including wages) provided that the facilities are within the MoH plan.

Michael advised us of the need for a letter of support from the local Government Medical Officer, which was then requested by Joshua. It came with a strong commendation for the project and for the Church of Uganda Diocese as an experienced and effective partner in past health developments. The commitment to eventually take over the funding was checked by a direct phone call to the Government Medical Officer. Detailed plans were available from the MoH, and budgets were worked out by the Diocesan Health Coordinator.

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All these things take time, and finally a year later it was time to take it back to the congregation. Around that time, the Senior Pastor of the church approached me to discuss the clinic project as a goal leading up to Christmas last year. It seemed like God was moving both of us to think strongly about the clinic. A Sunday was chosen to present the proposal to the church, which was compelling for a number of reasons:

• The goal was fairly clear and achievable.
• The benefits were easily understandable (a comparison of maternal and child mortality figure for Uganda and Australia spoke for themselves)
• The project was sustainable in the long-term
• Some members of the church knew the partners in Uganda personally, and had met with the HealthServe partner.
• The administrative costs of 10% were delineated clearly before donations were invited.
• Christmas was coming and it was the season for giving!

The response from a congregation of some 400 people was remarkable; within a month, over $80,000 was pledged; this exceeded anyone’s expectations.

The next step was to get the money over there, and whilst there were some administrative delays, Betty got the project started with a direct donation to the Diocese.

This model of partnership between HealthServe, and Australian congregation and an already identified community in a developing country, worked well here. As a medical practitioner I had the skills to put together a health project proposal; HealthServe had members with overseas experience and facilities for tax-deductible donations; the congregation had links with the target community, the means and desire to provide practical help in Christ’s name. Like our church, many congregations already have mission links to communities in the developing world; HealthServe offers an avenue to run properly planned health projects. Knowing the target population through existing ties is a powerful motivator for action, particularly if the project is clearly achievable and useful.

I believe that HealthServe has a unique role in facilitating such projects where we as medicos in our congregations can help guide our friends to specific works for communities in which we may have an existing interest.

David Outridge