Medical Mission Results
- Medical Mission trip to St. Francis hospital, Buluba, Uganda in August 2008
- A 40 foot container of donated medical supplies and equipment was shipped to Uganda in April 2008 valued at over $400,000. These supplies were totally invaluable to the hospital.
St. Francis hospital, Buluba, Uganda is a 200-bed hospital serving a population of about 388,000 people in Mayuge district. It is projected that the services of the hospital go beyond the immediate catchment of the district and serves the neighboring districts as well. Because of its rural location the hospital mainly serves heavily poor communities unable to pay for health care services. It is reported that the hospital receives over 35,000 out patient attendances. The hospital is therefore, constrained with a great need to provide services with limited medical equipment and supplies. The container shipment donated by the Janesville community and beyond couldn't have come at a better time to meet this need.
A team of 22 medical professionals and support staff volunteered their time and airfare to travel to Buluba hospital in early August 2008 for one week. They screened, performed 82 surgeries in 3 1/2 days, and trained hospital staff in medical specialties.
In April 2008 the 40-foot container from Madison bound for Buluba hospital, Uganda arrived at a cost of over US $14,000. The funds have been raised from the sale of Jinja Jewelry, donations from the community to Hope Institute and a generous loan from a couple in the Janesville community. Therefore, the people of Uganda made jewelry from recycled paper, which was sold in the USA and a portion of the proceeds were used to transport the badly needed medical supplies and equipment to their community hospital. This was a win-win situation.
Medical equipment and supply donors include Sharing Resources Worldwide, hospitals, nursing homes, medical clinics, medical supply companies and individuals. The items being supplied range from operating room (OR) gloves, exam tables, anesthesia machines, hospital beds and mattresses, hospital linens and laundry items, crutches, X-ray V-box machines were loaded. Other items include surgical kits, hypodermic needles, syringes, continuous epidural trays, Coflex absorbent foam dressings, wheel chairs, walkers, and several other basic hospital requirements. The Kids Against Hunger organization donation $7,128 meals to the hospital. The meals will be used by patients, as post operative nourishment.
Included on the container were medical books and journals for the Buluba hospital staff. Some of the glossy journals and magazines were transported to Buluba hospital and will eventually be used by the Jinja jewelry beaders to make more of the Jinja jewelry.