In the New Vision today…
GODFREY Bukenya was suffering from a rare condition in which his body was fighting against itself. The New Vision brought his story to light in June. Good Samaritans came to his aid. Halima Shaban reports on Bukenya’s progress
LITTLE Bukenya, as the medical staff at International Hospital Kampala (IHK) call him, was all smiles after he had a transition miracle from despair to hope.
Following a story of the 11-year-old Godfrey suffering from a strange skin disease in The New Vision of June 6, many people called the paper to offer assistance.
One person that has made a real difference in Bukenya’s life is Phillip Nduga, a fitness consultant based in Canada, who teamed up with two Canadian women and their local representatives, to get Bukenya from his home to IHK and back.
Under the auspices of Ssubi Foundation, Canada, they have managed to look after Bukenya throughout his stay in hospital, promised to take him back to school and construct him a house. He was in P.5 at Nakatete Primary School in Masaka when the illness forced him out of school.
Bukenya was diagnosed with a rare skin disease, pemphigus foliaceus, where the immune system makes a mistake, views the cells in the skin as foreign and attacks them. The cells no longer stick together and this causes burn-like lesions or blisters.
“Bukenya has greatly improved,” says Dr Ian Clarke, IHK’s chief executive officer. “We have a team of experts who have managed his condition, but he will keep coming for regular reviews because the treatment can only control the symptoms.”
Bukenya was hospitalised for two months at IHK’s Hope Ward, the charity wing of the hospital, which cares for the disadvantaged with severe ailments, which are normally very costly to manage.
Dusman Okee, the Ssubi Foundation’s coordinator, reveals that the foundation started in 2005 and now pays school fees for several orphaned children in northern Uganda. It hardly covers health, save for exceptional cases like Bukenya’s.
Bukenya’s mother, Margret Tumusime, could only express her appreciation with tears and endless thanks to the foundation and The New Vision.
