Bringing palliative care closer to communities

When the Hospice Africa Uganda team first met NI, a 43-year-old mother of six battling advanced rectal cancer, she was in excruciating pain and emotionally distressed. Living in a cramped one-roomed rental in Lukuli, Makindye, NI had returned to her mother’s care after a series of painful life events; early motherhood, abandonment from her spouses, and a terminal diagnosis. Her pain, both physical and emotional, was intense. But thanks to donations raised on the GlobalGiving Platform, our team was able to begin palliative care immediately, managing her pain and helping her regain some strength and comfort.

One of NI’s greatest fears was being separated from her children. During a home visit, the team found her and the children hungry, with NI clinging to hope that they could stay together despite the pressure from her brother to send them away. With support from the comfort fund and food relief provided by the Hospice team, the family found temporary relief.

But even more important was the emotional support and follow-up: our social worker brought NI’s mother in for a counseling session, leading to a family agreement that the children would remain under her mother’s care. NI’s mother, the main caretaker lost her salon business due to unpaid rent, her home rent is also due and she struggles to find food for the children. Yet amidst the hardship, NI remains hopeful. One of her children has been sponsored for school by a family friend, and the Hospice team continues to provide critical emotional and medical care.

Hospice Africa Uganda caters to a wide range of people through outreaches in poverty-stricken areas and slums. Those that cannot move to the outreach center are visited in their homes. This is possible because of donations from kind people including those on the GlobalGiving platform.

How an inspiring young cancer patient didn’t let chemotherapy get in the way of her exams

A young Hospice Africa Uganda cancer patient has beaten the odds by passing her final year school exams with flying colours whilst undergoing chemotherapy treatment for a painful leg cancer.

Dedicated student AR, (aged 17) was determined that her treatment would not prevent her from studying and sitting her exams at St. Maria Goretti Katende.

Months before her exams, AR received a diagnosis of osteosarcoma in her leg. “It almost broke me when I was given the news," explains AR’s mother, who said the impersonal and abrupt way the medical staff told of the diagnosis made matters worse.

On the day the doctors shared the upsetting cancer news with them, Hospice Africa Uganda (HAU) nurse R, was visiting patients in Mulago and she found the mother sobbing outside on a veranda and went to comfort her.

When the nurse got the story, AR, one of six children was enrolled in the HAU programme, and began receiving home visits from the care team while she was waiting to start her chemotherapy treatment.

The HAU team learned that AR was a dedicated and determined student, who was liturgy prefect in her class from 2022 to 2024. And it was clear that Lydia was not going to let her illness and treatment get in the way of her sitting her final school exams.

A month before the exams started, AR began chemotherapy, and her doctors advised her to pause her studies due to the physically draining effects of the treatment. But AR refused to give up. With immense determination, she continued studying.

When exam time came, AR’s school provided a special room for her to sit in her papers, and the examination board took into account her circumstances. The HAU team visited AR at school before the exams started, lifting her spirits by offering words of encouragement and support.

Her family was deeply moved by the care and dedication shown.

AR excelled in her exams and passed with distinction. Her overjoyed mother called Hospice Africa Uganda to thank the team for visiting AR at school. “She was rejuvenated to do her best, and it is thanks to your care and love that she succeeded."

AR continues her treatment she will remain focused on her studies and on achieving her dream of becoming a pilot or a cancer doctor.

“I’m very grateful for the support given to me. Hospice has been there for me. I’m especially grateful to Nurse R.”

Hospice Africa Uganda has a people-centered approach to cancer care, ensuring each patient receives individualised support with compassion and empathy. It is through generous donations that HAU continues to make a meaningful difference in the lives of patients and their families, offering Hope in the face of adversity.