Dennis had been with us for more than a year, we did our very best to treat him and he was very brave in his fight against cancer.

Dennis had many friends on Hope Ward, he was a very special child.

In his last month the cancer spread very quickly to his spine and lungs eventually leading to his death. He was on very strong painkillers and we did our best to ensure he was comfortable in his last days.

We will greatly miss Dennis. May his soul rest in eternal peace.

Jemimah Kiboss – Kyeyune

Program Coordinator
International Medical Foundation.

It isn’t that difficult to make a BIG difference to these lives: Lucy simply cared and arranged some help in Hope Ward. Simple, small gifts such as a coluring book can make a huge difference…

Please help.

Kevin.

Ha, you’d never guess it but Dennis has made an amazing transformation! After the surgery, he had more chemo and the tumor is ready for the second de-bulking surgery; it’s fantastic that it is so soon. He may need radiotherapy but is happy about how he is feeling now, mindless of the side effects of the chemo. Today, I gave him a puzzle and a teddy… he laughed so much, it made everyone else in the room laugh too. He has completly filled the colouring book that Jenny gave him and it has become his prized possession. How nice it is to see just how much he and Jimmy, his cousin, treasure every single gift they are given, including this course of treatment.

I didn’t manage to get one of them together looking at the camera but after teaching them what to do with the puzzle took this one. (My sister sent some puzzles away to an orphanage and as noone had seen one before, they shared it out so each child had a piece each, not really understanding what it was for but all the same, each child was very pleased with their piece).

He will probably stay in Hope ward until September. I will send Jimmy home for a few weeks after Dennis’s operation, which is on the 16th of July. The commitment he has shown for caring for Dennis is amazing. They are both such a pleasure to meet.

Thank you everyone.

You can read more about Dennis by clicking here…

After learning about the work of the Suubi Trust in Uganda, Jennifer Allison of Freshbrook has spent a year following university raising money to fund a trip to help.

The charity is working to improve healthcare in Lira in northern Uganda. After twenty years of conflict a truce has been signed but thousands of people remain in camps, reluctant to return because they fear there will be no schools or medical help.

Jennifer is spending two months in the area working in the community to improve healthcare and sanitation, as well as helping in local schools and orphanages.

She has joined Lucy Eastgate, the university friend who first told her about the Suubi Trust. They both graduated from Cardiff University last year and wanted to see more of the world. They decided to plan their own expeditions rather than sign up with a company that organises voluntary work overseas.

Lucy, from Wootton Bassett, studied nursing and has been helping to set up a mobile medical centre to take services to people returning to their farms and villages.

Jennifer, whose degree was in maths and statistics, expects that part of her role will be to raise awareness of the plight of the people in the area and to document how the charity is helping.

As she prepared to leave there were some last minute nerves. “I’ve never done anything so adventurous. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office advises people not to travel to northern Uganda because there isn’t a peace agreement with the rebels who have been fighting the government for years. But Lucy says there isn’t a problem and she feels really safe.”

To support its work, the Suubi Trust needs to raise £1,500 each month to allow them to provide primary health care to the most disadvantaged people in the region.

Make a donation at:

www.suubitrust.org.uk/jennifer

In April 2008, Lucy made a visit to the state hospital in Lira, here she met Dennis.

Dennis Odong is 7 years old; he has an older brother of 14 years and three sisters, each of 5, 3 and 1 years old. His father died in 2007 and his second brother died in 2000.

In February 2007, Dennis developed a growth on the side of his face. 1 year later his mother took him to see a traditional healer who cut the lump open, drained it and stuffed it with herbs. This caused the rapid growth and aggravation that led to Dennis’ decline in health and admission into Lira state hospital.

On the day of Lucy’s visit, Dennis had been in the hospital for 3 weeks; he had only seen a doctor once (on admission) and was having no medical treatment. He had been prescribed antibiotic drugs on day 1 but these were too expensive for his family to buy for him. He had also been advised to have a diagnostic x-ray, which again his family was unable to afford.

Dennis was referred to Hope Ward in Kampala where he was accepted for treatment. His cousin Jimmy, 13, came out of schooling to accompany him to the hospital as his primary carer, his mother being to sick to travel herself.

On his arrival at International Hospital Kampala, a biopsy of the growth was taken which tested negative for cancer. Unconvinced, the doctors performed a second biopsy, which this time indicated that the tumor was cancerous. Unfortunately, the second biopsy caused further aggravation and the tumor quadrupled in size, becoming almost the size of Dennis’ head.

Dennis is now having chemotherapy along with strong steroids. Consequently the tumor has halved in size, he is no longer in pain, is eating well and smiling again.

If Dennis had stayed in Lira, he would not have received the treatment he needed and would have most certainly died. Through the care of Hope Ward, Dennis has been given the best chance of survival.

The team has now completed a two week pilot which included one week of fact finding and one week of clinic visits to 5 rural villages.

The pilot has provided a clear indication that this is a viable approach and we are now in the process of creating a proposal for funding which will be issued to Dunavant, HIPS and a number of potential corporate sponsors later this month.

Our thanks go to Lucy, Amy, Tom (volunteers from the UK) and members of our clinical team from Lira for their hard work during the pilot and in helping to document the proposal.

Together we are providing mobile health clinic services in Pader, Lira and Kitgum, in Northern Uganda.

Dunavant has organic cotton farms in the region and wants to take healthcare to the farmers and their families, who would otherwise have no access to healthcare services. Most of these farmers have recently returned to the villages after many years in the IDP camps.

Dunavant has customised the truck, is meeting running costs including a driver and turnboy and also providing another vehicle to transport the medical team.

HIPS, an organisation funded by USAID, is providing budget for laboratory equipment and publicity materials.

IMF is providing the medical team, drugs, and the logistics – sending out a team to carry out vaccinations, see the patients, carry out VCT and ART as needed, distribute mosquito nets etc.

The Pilot will run for a number of weeks during which we will be better able to complete a full needs analysis and determine the probable budget requirements.

All being well Dunavant has plans to customise 4 trucks for use in the Pader, Kitgum and Lira Districts to get out to these rural areas to treat their farmers.

If you would like to help with this exciting new project then please get in touch. We are seeking sponsors and welcome opportunities to discuss potential collaborations.