Public Health Improvement in Uganda

As a nurse in the US, I had always wanted to get some volunteering experience in a foreign country so when my friend mentioned that she was looking at a program in Uganda (The Real Uganda), I asked her if she wanted some company and the planning started…. We were placed at St. Charles Lwanga Buikwe Hospital and stayed with Tony and his family from Hopeline in Lugazi. Tony took the time to show us around Lugazi when we arrived and gave us a tour of all the sites that we’d be visiting. We accompanied the doctor on their morning rounds and I learned so much from them. I learned how they treat for malaria, typhoid, sickle cell crisis, malnutrition to name a few, and how they monitor HIV. I was able to see firsthand the challenges that both the healthcare staff and patient populations face due to the lack of equipment and/or funds yet how positive, humble, and optimistic everyone that I encountered was. In the afternoons, we would visit the ladies in either the Bulyantete and Mayindo groups. If you are a bit introverted like me, don’t worry – you’ll still do fine! You’re going to dance, there’s just no way around it. I had a great time with the women’s groups – everyone was so welcoming and kind. We sang, danced, played net ball, and they taught me how to make kabalagala and how to prepare and fry cassava. Again, the positivity and friendliness was astounding. Leslie totally welcomed us and prepared us for everything, she is easy to communicate with and responds quickly. I think this organization and what she is doing is pretty awesome. If there is anything that you need or want to do, she is your go to person! Definitely take time to do the things like rafting and exploring while you are here – Uganda is beautiful and fun. I feel so grateful to have had the opportunity to have had this experience and to have met all of the people that I did on this trip. The only thing that I would change is to spend more time here.

For this entire program, I give 10/10 ⭐ stars because the benefits to both the community and the organization are huge. Especially the knowledge and experience exchanged during volunteering period is priceless and this greatly elevates the once poor communities to well independent villages.

Our programs are so much in benefiting both grassroot individuals most especially the unprevillaged women and children and our volunteers so that to regain hope thus dreaming again, the people we work with are much more happy to receive volunteers who always show them good behavioral habits and they always try to exchange their cultural, educational, emotional values which is what we do want our volunteers and people to obtain in their stay, it's not about being well off to be able to work with us but the love and happiness is more precious to people you will always meet on ground, Our dear friend's we do request you to work together to grow our communities we live in and to make changes in people's lives Best regards Tony