The
People of Lukuli
In 2000, when the clinic was formed, Lukuli at the southern
edges of Kampala was a mixture of a few large older houses
and farmed smallholdings with simple one or two room dwellings.
The administrative parish called Lukuli encompassed seven
'zones' and each of those was a few dozen houses. The
founding members of the clinic provide a cross-section
of the population: a retired teacher formerly at Gayaza
Girls School, a civil engineer, a retired civil servant,
a shopkeeper who also designs traditional Gomesi dresses
and her husband, a local council official, a teacher,
an accountant and a business women working in Kampala.
The
2001 Census recorded 12,000 people in Lukuli, with adjoining
parishes combining to 53,000 people living within 2km
of the clinic. However this population has been growing
more rapidly than the road network or electricity supply.
Most households used shared taps or spring water. The
nearest Government health facility is two miles (3.5km)
away from the clinic by road. Whilst the wealthy and more
mobile people tended to choose larger clinics in the city,
few private or government centres serve this poorer urban
population. Lukuli-Nanganda, our village’s full
name, is part of the Makindye administrative Division
of Kampala.
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 |
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Open land - fast
disappearing |
Walking, cycling - rural population |
Hope Clinic - "it needed
to be done" |
In
2001, the Census recorded 300,000 people in Makindye -
it is now estimated at 400,000. Much of the open farming
land has been developed and enclosed so rainwater for
farming is harder to manage for crops and livestock can't
graze freely. The demand for services has led to higher
prices and there are few providers of 'socially priced'
services to ensure that the majority of the population
can access them. Hope Clinic Lukuli has a catchment reaching
to Lake Victoria and the islands - over ten thousand households.
Our services are priced to remain accessible for low income
and very-low income households, those living in the most
underserved parts of the district. In close cooperation
with elected officials and community leaders, we do what
we can for our neighbours.