We can benefit from your skills, your contacts and knowledge - from there or with you in Lukuli

The founders of Hope Clinic Lukuli were all seeing the struggles for health care in the community from first-hand experience. They lived and still live in Lukuli and Konge and Makindye villages and see the clinic as they pass each day and give advice and support when they can. The community leaders do the same. But sometimes the greatest support is provided by a person who has contacts, can introduce us to their company's charity committee, can write a newspaper article, update our website, include us in their technical trainings in Kampala or spend a few hours, days or weeks working at our clinic.

We have for the past couple of years hosted UK medical elective students, a Canadian Family Doctor whose spouse had a job in Kampala, an experienced UK GP with six months at the end of a VSO assignment, a keen community volunteer in country through her spouse and who found here drive to now enter a career in public health. There are many others who find spaces for our staff to join a classroom, tell our story or get their employer involved. We have changed our expectations and offering of electives to part-qualified medical students on electives as whist they found it interesting and thought provoking, it can be a combination of quiet periods and very busy clinics for our staff. Hope Clinic is a relatively small facility and although the days can be varied and fascinating, this elective is most suited to students who are proactive in their practice and who are happy to work on Public Health initiatives and mobile clinics in addition to the regular clinical work undertaken at Hope Clinic. This is because the clinic can experience periods of extreme quiet as well as very busy periods. Students who would prefer a more constant and settled clinical elective may be better applying to a larger hospital such as Mulago Hospital Complex and arranging to make some day visits to Hope Clinic to see the work undertaken here. If this latter option is of interest then students should enquire with Hope Clinic and their preferred hospital whether such excursions to Hope Clinic will be practical. We are now also interested in more experienced medics, through Out Of Programme schemes to spend a number of months with us.

In the past, aside from financial donations:

Chuck and Julia have supported us in so many ways; including technical forms, timely reassurance and several financial donations. We are very grateful and as with all those who express an interest in the clinic we stay in touch through an update bulletin. Glenda Martin, a retired nurse from Canada, was visiting her daughter, Julia, and family in Uganda and was able to spend time with our medical and administrative staff to help them streamline their medical reporting and patient management records. Thanks to Glenda and Julia we have set up the patients’ card system and have detailed statistical data for the Divisional officers and the Ministry of Health.

Health Volunteers Overseas, in the person of Sandy Logue, helped us in 2003 with the provision of baby resuscitation training. She was linked to the clinic through the Uganda coordinator for HVO.org, based at the Mulago Hospital, Orthopaedic Dept. Related to this we received from Mrs Jilly McMinn, a supporter in the UK, funding to purchase an Ambu-bag which can be a life-saving but simple tool to ensure that newborn babies have sufficient air just after delivery to safeguard against brain damage after a long delivery. Linking this to the training by Sandy has helped several babies.

We find that individuals in development organisations really want to help us, they can see how the way we work with the community and the government to identify needs and plan and implement the appropriate response is where the donor money should be going.

Please contact the clinic if you think you can spare your time or make a connection to help our community.

Several supporters reports in their blogs about immunisation day or a client of our HIV service or our maternal health services. We have been interviewed by CNN, Reuters and journalists of National Public Radio in the US and the BBC.