Physical Health Uganda Project #11778

Healthcare Volunteer Uganda

by East Africa Aid Foundation

Project Report | Jun 4, 2014
Income Generating Activities for OVCs & families

By Dickson Kasozi | co-director, Healthcare Volunteer Uganda

Background:

As noted in our February 2014, in an effort to promote the principle of sustainability, HVU with Mildmay Uganda, in January 2014 been making an assessment of the possibility of supporting poor households were vulnerable students comes from with income generating activities (IGAs). By enabling families with means of earning an income, these households can become self reliant in the future and be able to support the education of their children other than depending on donor funding that may not be long lasting.

Majority of the households that visited during the needs assessment exercise suggested to be supported with livestock projects such as poultry, piggery, goats, and cattle projects while a few wanted financial capital to start small businesses in the informal sector.

With support from Mildmay Uganda, HVU was supported with 60 goats and 19 piglets towards the IGAs project.

Beneficiaries:

The beneficiaries were HIV positive children and their households. The beneficiaries were put in groups of 6-7 members and 10 groups were formed and supported with goats and piglets according to their need respectively. The 10 groups came from 84 households which had HIV positive children. On average each household had 6 members. Each group received 6 goats. The beneficiaries came from the two circles of Bukuya and Kassanda sub-counties.

Households were also supported with crop seeds for planting. The seed that have been given to HVU for distribution include; maize, beans, and a variety of green vegetables such as carrots, green pepper, tomatoes, cabbages, onions, and sukuma wiki among others. 24 families are to benefit from these seeds. These seeds have not yet been distributed as they came when the planting season was ending and rains had stopped. These seeds will be distributed in June for planting in the coming season that will start in July.

Potential Long term benefits:

The project will benefit 84 households allowing them to rise out of poverty, which will provide for their families' health and well-being. It will provide beans, maize, and other planting seeds to improve on nutrition and income of about 504 orphans and their families. It will train orphans, their parents and caregivers about income generating activities. After getting education, they will be able to meet their basic needs like nutrition, income and health care and lead to a better community.

Challenges:

- IGA supplies still few compared the overwhelming numbers of OVC families that need to benefit from the project.

- IGAs projects need to be supported with technical services such as skills training in good farming and agricultural practices and marketing potentials that Mildmay our main funders on this has not been able to offer.

- Transport for transporting the IGA items to the community for distribution to the beneficiaries still a big challenge.HVU still has not yet secured funding for transport during distribution; Mildmay only deliver to HVU office and does not support with field transport for distribution.

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Jan 6, 2014
Medical Supplies Distribution (December 2014)

By Dickson Kasozi | Projects Leader

Volunteer documenting medication

HVU through its lead partner the East Africa Aid Foundation under the directorship of Mr. Tarek El Shayal has received two shipments of assorted medical supplies and computer supplies and accessories between July and October 2013. These items are intended to be part of the tools needed in the patient care process helping patients who are incapable of paying for the cost of medical supplies associated with the treatment or any of the its procedures.

These supplies have been re-donated to three health facilities in the hard to reach areas of Kassanda; that is Kiganda health centre IV, Bukuya Health centre III, and Kassanda health centre IV.

These facilities received the basic medical supplies that are within the capacity of the health centre to serve the local populations. Items for more highly sophisticated and specialized surgical procedures were donated to Platinum Medical Centre in Kampala a partner health facilities in providing surgical procedures to medical cases identified by HVU in the community.

These supplies were greatly appreciated by the facility staff and we are hoping that the donated medical items will provide the much needed financial relief to those who cannot afford the escalating costs of healthcare, care not otherwise available without the gift of the donations that have been collected from hospitals and medical centers in the United States of America.

Challenges:

Our biggest challenge still remains on the quantity of the supplies. The need of these supplies in our health facilities is enormous and more regular supplies if given opportunity would be invaluable to the health of our local population. The other major issue is on shipment and local transportation costs of these supplies. HVU is very grateful to the support of Mr. Tarek of EAAF for all the assistance rendered right from collecting the supplies, sorting and packing them, shipment and associated costs. However we are seeking for kin donations to help us offset the costs associated with shipping and delivering these items to the local facilities in Uganda.

Sincerely,

Dickson Kasozi

HVU Projects Coordinator

Compiling all the distribution lists

Clinic Distribution

Medication & Supplies Distribution

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Oct 7, 2013
OVC Supported Projects (Uganda)

By Dickson Kasozi and Ponny Bukenya | Co-directors HVU

Background to OVC projects:

Support for Orphans and Vulnerable Children is provided as per Mildmay OVC Core program areas. OVC support includes food and or/food security provided in accordance with the selection criteria prioritizing the severely malnourished. Using the Mildmay “circle of service providers’ model”, Mug partners with local Community-based Organizations as conduits for service delivery within target populations. HVU is supported by Mildmay to enrol HIV positive OVCs, provide OVCs with nutrition supplements on behalf of Mildmay Uganda facilitate the formation of service provider’s circles and extend Income Generating Activities (IGAs) to OVC and care givers. MUg also promotes the integration of OVC programs into other health services which include eMTCT, mental health, Integrated Management of Acute Malnutrition, Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health and maternal and child health (MCH).

1) Enrollment of Positive Children for Nutritional Support (August)

Nutritional assessment is done for all HIV positive clients and the clinically malnourished are provided with therapeutic or supplementary food. OVCs and their families are provided with nutritional food supplements.
In August HVU with support from 8 local volunteers conducted enrollment for HIV positive children and family at Kiganda Health center IV to plan for nutritional supplements distribution.
The exercise was done for one week and 80 index (HIV positive) children were registered and of these 48 were females and 32 were males.
In total 320 children were registered of which 80 were the index /HIV positive children and 240 were their siblings.
28 out of the 80 HIV positive children registered were between the ages of 14 and 17.

Challenges

Transport: Mildmay does not support HVU with transport for mobilization and distribution of IGAs and monitoring. HVU operates in far hard to reach communities that are not so easy to access given the fact that HVU does not have a field truck. HVU has been trying to mobilize funds to buy a motor cycle or a truck but so far luck has not come our way.
Lack of incentives for local volunteers: HVU works with a team of volunteers in mobilizing individuals and communities and as well as during enrollment and distribution of supplies. Though volunteers do not work for a pay, there is need for them to be motivated through incentives such as transport refunds, lunch allowances and facilitation with communication (air time).
Inadequate Supplies: Despite the efforts by MUg to reach families/children infected with HIV with nutritional food supplies, many children and families infected with HIV in need nutritional food supplies are left out. More so a few who receive do not receive enough quantities and what they get hardly take them for two months. The supplies are not regular which are distributed once or twice in a year.
Lack of good internet connection. This hinders effective communication and timely reporting to project funders.

Recommendations

Mobilize for a field truck or a motor cycle: HVU will continue seeking support from friends and potential funders to see that we can buy a field truck and be able to overcome the transport problem once and for all.
About volunteers incentives; HVU will also continue to appeal to potential donors and well wishers to support us with minimal funds to facilitate our community mobilization efforts.
Need to have a more regular and well streamlined nutrition support program. There is need for HVU and partners to mobilize funds and put in place a well planned regular program to support HIV infected children and family with adequate nutritional supplements. In many case the food given is not a supplement and it the only food that families can afford to have because many families do not have other food supplies to supplement on.
Need for support with high speed internet connection so that there can be effective and timely communication.

Conclusion

HVU thanks Mildmay Uganda for her continued support to OVCs and HIV positive adults in our community of operation and we remain hopeful that Mildmay will mobilize funds in time and support the enrolled children with the much needed nutritional food supplements. HVU would also like to appeal to friends, well wishers and potential donors/funders to support us in many ways including publicity for our programs, mobilizing funds, technical advice, and donating supplies.

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