Page 28 - Luce 2017

A l umni News

Suzanne in Uganda in 2014 with daughter, Isabelle, and ‘adopted daughter’,
Bayati, who is now studying Medicine at Kampala University.
I first visited Dolen Ffermio’s projects in dedicated but I realised the key to the
Uganda in 2014 with fifteen other UK project’s success was the Community
supporters including my eighteen-year- Volunteers (CVs). These volunteers
old daughter. In May 2017 eight of us were already known and trusted in their
revisited our Ugandan colleagues. We communities. The concept of taking the
witnessed their continuing enthusiasm family planning service to the clients,
to improve their communities, so they could be seen at their homes,
demonstrated in the schools, farms, workplaces or hair salons, enabled the
agro-forestry, permaculture, solar and women to continue their work and
orphan projects we visited. The area child care, while saving time and bus
was still suffering from the effects of fares. This innovative approach was
a drought but the people remained so successful that a proposal involving
remarkably optimistic about their future. the training of hairdressers in family College Fellow Prof Judy Whitworth
The second half of my visit was as planning, the CVs visiting TV sports AC (1962) visited the College and
trustee of Sustain Health Partnership, bars and the extension of services to was treated to a virtuoso percussion
formed in 2014 by a group of UK the whole Kawempe community, was exhibition by current First in Family
doctors and other professionals with a funded until December 2017. Scholar Alison Fane – as with Alison,
shared vision to improve mother and Judy was the first in her family to attend
child healthcare in developing countries. All at Sustain Health Partnership hope University and College.
that our bids to obtain future funding for
Kawempe Home Care (KHC), situated this vital work are successful to enable
in a slum area outside Kampala, is Kawempe HC to scale up this pioneering
an inspirational health facility which approach to family planning to other
provides holistic care to some of the disadvantaged Ugandan communities.
most disadvantaged people living with
HIV/AIDS, TB and cancer. Uganda has
one of the highest fertility rates in Africa.
KHC wished to improve their clients’
care by providing them with knowledge
and access to modern contraceptive
methods to reduce unplanned
pregnancies, unsafe abortions and thus
maternal and infant mortality. With
Uganda being a largely patriarchal
society, this service would also promote
women’s autonomy and wellbeing.
KHC proposed a six-month project
(January - June 2017) which Sustain
Health Partnership funded. It involved
training ten clinicians and ten
Community Volunteers (CVs) in family
planning so they could educate and
provide their clients with their preferred
method of contraception, free of charge.
During the two weeks I was based at
KHC I was able to address outstanding Tim Cheers (2007) recently graduated as an RAAF Pilot Officer after training
training issues and evaluate the progress with 79 Squadron on the Hawk 127 (shown in image) before moving to RAAF
of the project. The whole team was so Williamtown where he is likely to fly the F18 Hornet or the new F35 fighter jet.
28 LUCE Number 16 2017