Category: Uganda

Change

The Fourth of July has been celebrated in the United States of America since independence was declared from the British Empire in 1776. The day is commemorated with many traditions, including backyard barbeques, fireworks, parades, and displaying the national flag.

While Real Medicine Foundation’s headquarters are based in the US, we are a global organization with more than 1,500 team members in 19 countries around the world. As our team in the US celebrates the 4th of July, our teams in Perú and Uganda look forward to upcoming celebrations.

Perú’s Military Parade

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Alobo Monic

Sacrificing for the Children

ALOBO MONIC is a refugee from South Sudan. She is a member the Village Health Teams collaborating with RMF to promote good health and living habits in Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement. She also serves as a coach in RMF’s Sports Development Program.

“Being a mother is beyond giving birth. As a mother I hold a lot of responsibilities, taking care of the whole family and sacrificing a lot for the wellbeing of the children. I have to forego visiting other places for the sake of my children.…

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World Malaria Day

Raising Awareness

April 24, 2018

Lindsey Mills

Malaria is a Preventable and Treatable Disease

Many Lack Access to Necessary Resources

Infectious disease epidemics happen all over the world every year. In the United States, October comes around and we start hearing about flu season. Many of us head to our local pharmacy or doctor’s office to get a flu vaccine with some hope that it will keep us protected during the winter months when influenza seems to be at its worst. In the event that we do get the flu, we have access to medication that helps alleviate symptoms, shorten the…

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RMF Uganda would like to thank you for all your kind support to our young heart patient, Patricia Biira. Today, August 24, 2017, she has been discharged from the Uganda Heart Institute after her successful surgery on Wednesday, August 16, 2017. The surgeons have assured us that Patricia is in a stable condition and she will gradually heal from the post-surgery pain. Patricia has started standing and walking on her own, and she can smile and laugh.

Patricia was born with holes in her heart, which prevented her from growing and…

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Young Heart Patient to Receive Surgery, Uganda

Patricia Biira

August 14, 2017 - Uganda

Alphonse Mwanamwolho

Patricia Biira is a 3-year-old girl from the village of Kitholhu in the Rwenzori Mountains, Uganda. She was born with holes in her heart, which prevented her from growing and developing normally. Before receiving help from Real Medicine Foundation, Patricia’s parents struggled with her illness to the extent of selling their only piece of land, but even that was not enough to access treatment for their daughter at the Uganda Heart Institute. Patricia’s parents became depressed as they watched their child struggle. In 2016, they desperately requested RMF’s support, which was granted. Patricia…

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Refugee families being transported from the border point of Goboro (Bidibidi Refugee Settlement, Zone 1). UNHCR uses its trucks to transport refugees to selected destinations after RMF has completed health screening services.

A child sits at home after having breakfast (Bidibidi Refugee Settlement, Zone 1).

Refugees are given plastic sheeting, which they use to construct shelters where they can reside with their families.

A woman and her children sit amidst the plot of land given to them to start a life.…

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Alphonse Mwanamwolho is RMF Uganda’s Deputy Country Director. He is based in Kampala, and makes frequent visits to RMF’s projects in Kiryandongo, Tororo, and Buwate. He also makes the longer, more difficult trip to support and evaluate our team’s work in Bidibidi Refugee Settlement. Alphonse holds a BA in Social Sciences and several diplomas in areas such as Special Needs Education and Counseling. His guiding principle is “Respect + Love = Peace.”

Alphonse has worked tirelessly to build and empower our team in Bidibidi Refugee Settlement. In order to accomplish this monumental task, RMF has…

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Atrocities of War

There is no easy way to put it. Since July 2016 when fighting once again broke out in Juba, the people of South Sudan have been starved to death and murdered outright. Gun fire, throats slit, locked in their homes and burned alive. There are now 290,000 people at risk of dying from malnutrition due to the destruction of farms and the blocking of aid. Many go to aid tents, just to be gunned down.

“…when fighting started in South Sudan, life became very bad. You find you lost…

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Background

Since 2011, RMF has been inspiring hope in the young people of Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement and the host community, by offering skills training at our Panyadoli Vocational Training Institute (PVTI). The program started, as suggested by the community, with training in Hairdressing and Beauty Therapy and Tailoring and Garment Cutting, and has grown to offer two more courses: Carpentry and Joinery and Bricklaying and Concrete Practice. After completing the three-month training program, students take DIT examinations to be certified in their field of study. Many graduates have gone on to start successful businesses or join established…

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Yusuf Bisiku

View this story and original report.

Yusuf Bisiku is a three-and-a-half-year-old boy; a refugee living at Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement in Uganda. Yusuf had symptoms of malaria and he was vomiting. After an investigation by RMF’s laboratory technicians, he was diagnosed with severe malaria and being underweight. He looked like a much younger child. After the diagnosis, Yusuf was immediately put on treatment.

Yusuf’s mother explained that they did not have enough food since fleeing South Sudan. They survived on water and biscuits and some food begged from well-wishers they…

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What Liberation Looks Like

Fatuma's Story

July 25, 2016 - Uganda

JL Wright

Thoughts from a Mom

Real Stories Hitting Home

My life these days looks pretty standard "stay-at-home-parent" crazy. Up and down all night, early wake up calls, bottles of milk, lots of cartoons, coloring pages, and book-reading. And let’s not forget stroller pushing, Batman-mobile riding, and kiddie-pool swimming or popsicles underneath the shade of the front porch on a hot Summer afternoon.

I love my kiddos. I’ve found my true calling as a mom, there’s nothing more amazing than watching these two little gifts grow and learn and change with each passing day. There’s also nothing more…

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Something Simple

A Big Impact

If you had asked yesterday what a sewing machine was to me, I would’ve told you that mine was a birthday gift from my husband, stored now in the recesses of my closet as my life is filled to the brim with taking care of my two baby boys. I would’ve said it was something I would take out from time to time to mend a seam, sew a bag, or stitch a headband.

But that was yesterday.

That was before I started reading about how things so trivial to…

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The Real Medicine Foundation is at work in one of the largest refugee settlements in Uganda, Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement, as Implementing Partner for Healthcare for UNHCR.

Watch Uganda: ‘One of the best places to be a refugee’ by clicking HERE.

" On behalf of the UNHCR Representative to Uganda, please find below a link to a recent article that aired on BBC Worlds News on Uganda’s approach to refugee management and protection. The video formed part of the BBC’s current ‘People on the Move’ series, covering forced displacement and migration in the lead up to the…

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"…The theme for this edition is “Refugee Resilience”, showcasing the message that refugees are strong, talented people who, through no fault of their own have been forced to live through extraordinary circumstances, and have gone on from those experiences to make powerful, positive contributions to Ugandan society. This was covered by articles submitted by UNHCR staff as well as partners from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Alice Albright CEO of the Global Partnership for Education and UK Minister for Africa James Duddridge MP." – Charlie Yaxley

Read this edition here.

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On behalf of the UNHCR Representative to Uganda, please find attached the latest UNHCR Uganda updates on the Burundi.

 

Highlights:

Burundi
The number of new arrivals from Burundi remains stable, though with weekly fluctuations. This week, a total of 344 individuals were received in Nakivale, a decrease from last week’s 637 individuals. Another 37 individuals (14 households) arrived in Kyaka II through Mirama Hills. Most of the arrivals came from Bujumubura and neighboring areas, with others from a new area called Ngagara. The new arrivals report that are fleeing politically motivated violence characterized by killings,…
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On March 14th, 2016, RMF, Windle Trust, OPM, and UNHCR gave gifts to the best candidates who participated in the competition of mosquito hang up campaigns in all school in the camp. The gifts included books labeled RMF, bed sheets labeled RMF, Mosquito nets, t-shirts labeled RMF, and school bags labeled RMF. They started with Bidongo primary, went to Panyadoli Hills primary, Arnold primary, Canrom primary, St.Bakitha primary, and Panyadoli SSSas seen below:

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World AIDS Day

Educating and Protecting the Community

December 01, 2015 - Uganda

Dr. Martina Fuchs

It was beautiful and touching to join the ‪World AIDS Day celebrations at Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement, ‪Uganda, today, especially our Community Clinic Outreach Team, living positively with HIV. It takes tremendous courage to come out as HIV+ this openly, to take responsibility, to protect loved ones, and to educate the community.

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Day of the African Child

Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement Celebration

June 29, 2015 - Uganda

Naku Charles Lwanga and Alphonse Mwanamwolho

Celebration of the Day of the African Child

We had a great day at the ‘Day of the African Child’ celebrations: Poem presentations from different schools within Kiryandongo Resettlement Camp, band marching, drama and cultural presentations, and art competitions. Please see the paintings and drawings below.

A joint banner was made by all partners who contributed to this day:

All the children were seated in different tents that we had procured, watching educational, drama and cultural presentations, and listening to speeches and poems from various invited presenters and guests:

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World Refugee Day

Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement Celebration

June 29, 2015 - Uganda

Naku Charles Lwanga and Alphonse Mwanamwolho

Celebration of World Refugee Day

The invited guests were the Minister for Disaster, the UNHCR Country Representative, the OPM Commissioner, all IP/OP Country Directors, and the Residential District Commissioner.

Every organization working at Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement was tasked to exhibit what they do; as RMF we exhibited vocational materials which included tailoring products, carpentry products, we staged a temporary salon at the compound where a function was taking place, and invited guests inclusive of the UNHCR Country Representative were extremely happy to see what the refugees can do. “Vocational Training is solely in the hands of RMF,…

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In conjunction with the Occidental Social Enterprise class under the direction of Professor Sherry Simpson Dean RMF presents the Dream Free campaign which aims to share the stories and dreams of refugee students at Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement in Uganda. This is the first of several stories to follow.

Born in Warrap State and raised in Unity state, Mabil was born to Mr. Mabil Awongdit and Mrs. Nyadeng Ntomachut on March 23rd, 1998. Born as the only boy, Mabil lived with his parents who are members of the Dinka tribe. By the time the conflict…

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A blog post from Health eVillages’ visit to Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement and Buwate Sports Academy in Uganda.

When it was finally decided that we would be visiting Uganda, it involved some preparation. We were to go on a mission to deliver devices for Angels of Hope and RMF South Sudan (which would be sent to Juba by road from Kampala). Amongst the 3 of us we carried 22 devices in total (18 to RMF South Sudan and 4 for Angels of Hope). Apart from ensuring procurement of devices and having them uploaded with content, we had to prepare…

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Today, 24th January 2015, Hiccup Circus presented their informative performances that the community had been eagerly awaiting following the posters that we had pinned earlier on at public places in the Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement inviting the community for the event. A very special Thank You to RMF’s Cindy Stein Urbanc for introducing RMF to Hiccup Circus and for fundraising herself to make this event possible!

The performances were dramatizing two themes: Encouraging communities to take children for Immunization and HIV/AIDS Prevention. The performances attracted a significant audience of approximately 1,000 people, mostly children and youths (as you…

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Help us give more women and children the chance to realize their potential this holiday season by making a donation to our Giving Tuesday campaign. Every dollar will go directly to the field and give people like Auma Santa a chance to create better lives for themselves and their communities.

Auma Santa is a Ugandan national living in the Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement in Uganda.

Auma previously worked as a farmer, the only option for her to earn a living and support her children. Barely able to scrape by, she saw the posters advertising free…

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At RMF we believe every life deserves the chance to realize its potential. When people are liberated from their fight for survival, they begin creating a better life for themselves and their community.

We believe in the human ability to transform. Our innate capacity to create transcends differences of ethnicity and economic standing. We are human because of our potential to change the world. When we are at our best, we are co-creators.

By empowering the people we are trying to help, we discover visionaries and partners who are best able to solve their…

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When the Kenyan refugees arrived at the Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement in 2008, there was very little support in terms of school fees for their children, and there was no nursery school at the settlement. RMF stepped forward to establish a school support program to cover fees and supplies for Nursery, Primary and Secondary School children of the Kenyan refugee community at Kiryandongo. In the subsequent years, students from (South) Sudan, Congo, Burundi and Rwanda have been accepted into our program as well. RMF pays a portion of the tuition fees, school uniforms, school supplies, and exam fees for the…

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PANYADOLI HEALTH CENTER III

Kiryandongo Refugee Camp This Level III Health Center’s target population is about 60,000 residents in the Bweyale region, including 41,000 Ugandan IDPs, Bududa survivors, and Refugees from Kenya, Sudan, Congo, Burundi and Rwanda which are the main target population. In the past, the large influxes included that of 10,000 new Ugandan IDPs in October 2010 and another 15,000 joined the Kiryandongo Resettlement Camp at the end of May 2011.

The Panyadoli Health Center treats as many as 3,000 patients per month, for a wide variety of issues including malaria, malnutrition, maternal and…

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In the evening on February 23 RMF’s South Sudan and Uganda teams parted ways and Martina and crew drove to the Kiryandongo Refugee/ Resettlement Camp.

RMF has been serving Ugandans, Ugandan IDPs and refugees from other African nations since April 2008, when the RMF team first arrived from the US to the Mulanda Refugee Transit Centre, giving emergency assistance to the large influx of Kenyan Refugees escaping political violence in Kenya.  This emergency help was initially in the form of psychological trauma and social support, school fee subsidies, clothing, care kits and seeds for the refugees to…

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On February 22 Dr. Fuchs and crew crossed the border into Uganda and drove to Adjumani, West Nile. Sunday morning RMF’s South Sudan and Uganda team leaders met in Adjumani to assess the Adjumani District refugee situation

We met with the Settlement Commander at the Office of the Prime Minister’s Refugee Desk in Pakele and briefed him about RMF’s work in South Sudan and Uganda, where the refugee situation is becoming more and more overwhelming. RMF’s main areas of intervention would be healthcare and education.

We visited 2 of the 5…

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On February 22 Martina and crew drove from Juba to the South Sudan/Uganda border to visit Nimule Hospital and Internally Displaced Person (IDP) camps on the South Sudan side, and refugee camps on the Ugandan side of the border.

NIMULE HOSPITAL

Nimule Hospital started in the early 1970s as a clinic and was upgraded to a hospital in 1983. Interventions are in 3 main areas: Healthcare, Nutrition and HIV/AIDS. The bed capacity of Nimule Hospital is 174 beds, which is very small considering it serves the entire population of Magwi County (287,000 people), travelers from…

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I just received Martina’s report from her trip to South Sudan and Uganda from February 12 to March 2. There is a lot of information and many, many photos so I’m going to split the report into several posts. Check back all this week for more coverage!

From February 12-22 Martina visited the Outpatient Department/Accident & Emergency Department at Juba Teaching Hospital to evaluate the situation and needs with Dr Mayen Achiek, Assistant Professor of Surgery, College of Medicine, Consultant Surgeon, Juba Teaching Hospital. The hospital is overcrowded as a result of the current crisis so…

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A refugee is transported in critical condition from his tent to the health center

Dear Friends of Real Medicine Foundation, This blog post is dedicated to the Congolese refugees who have arrived in Uganda in the past 2 weeks in desperate need of shelter, food, water, and healthcare as a result of violence in the DRC. The existing settlements/refugee camps are overextended and we need your help to meet the needs of this vulnerable population as soon as possible!

Because of RMF’s presence in Uganda through our work at the Kiryandongo settlement,…

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Photo: Dr. Martina C. Fuchs, RMF Founder/CEO, making new friends at the Lwala, Kenya Community Hospital, October 1, 2011

We are so grateful to all our friends, supporters and teams around the world and wish everyone a fantastic 2012!

Having wrapped up another successful  we want to pause and say a huge THANK YOU to all of you who supported our work in 2011.  You have helped us achieve so much, and we give our deep thanks to everyone for your generosity and support!

In 2011 we..

In Japan, post-earthquake and…

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Our Vocational Training Center at Kiryandongo is now entering it’s third month of training, and all the students are very involved and excited by the classes and their future prospects.    The Hairdressing and Tailoring classes are in full swing and very well received so far.

Some recent photos below of our hairdressing students in action at the new Vocational Center located within the Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement.

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In recognition of today’s World Refugee Day, we would like to highlight our work with refugees in Uganda and the overall plight of more than 40 million uprooted people around the world.  With conflict and natural disasters escalating in many countries, finding new homes and allowing refugees to restart their lives is increasingly difficult.

Real Medicine Foundation (RMF) supplies the Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement in Uganda, a home to more than 26,000 Sudanese, Kenyan, Congolese and internally displaced Ugandans, with something rarely found at refugee camps; HOPE.  Providing this hope to Kiryandongo by supporting the healthcare, education and…

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Last 3 days to give!

December 29, 2010

If you were considering donating to a worthy cause in 2010 and taking advantage of the tax benefits of charitable donations, now is your last chance to contribute!

As we look towards new efforts and projects in 2011 it is only through your generous funding that we will be able to continue our long term development projects in some of the poorest areas on this planet.

As you know, we have set the goal of raising $100,000 by December 31st, and would greatly appreciate if you consider Real Medicine for your year-end donation.

In the spirit of Real Medicine…

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Uganda: Crocs for Kiryandongo!

October 04, 2010 - Uganda

On the 24th of September, Charles Naku, our Project Coodinator for Uganda, picked up 750 pairs of donated Crocs sandals in Kampala to deliver to the men, women and children at the Kiryadongo Refugee Settlement.  Through our partners in Uganda, the World Children’s Fund and a container of generously donated Croc’s sandles in all sizes, we were able to provide some of the refugees with much needed new footwear.

This comes at an especially good time, as it is rainy season in Uganda, and the roads that the children and adults walk…

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John (in white shirt) and his family welcoming him back home after surgery

The following is a letter written sent to us by our Project Coordinator, Charles Naku, for Uganda. This letter is about John Ochwo, a patient that RMF has been supporting for the past year and who with the generous support and connections of Mending Kids International was able to receive a vital heart surgery for free at a top hospital in India:

"Dear Real Medicine,   I was smothered in hugs the day I broke the news to…

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Striving for Development, Not Just Aid

June 25, 2010 - Uganda

by Allison Glennon and Jonathan White

The difference between humanitarian aid and international development can be ambiguous.  It is oftentimes hard to tell where the line is drawn between providing temporary aid to a people in need, versus truly helping them to rebuild and develop.

Real Medicine’s goal has always been to start with aid but move beyond that as soon as possible, and provide sustainable and truly internal development over the long term.  The old proverb of “Give a man a fish vs. teaching a man to fish” is very close to what RMF tries to achieve with many of…

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After the clinic, and our support of the Nursery, Primary and Secondary Schools make up the next biggest component of our program in the Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement. The students we support are mostly Kenyan refugees, but there is also a small group of Sudanese students and one Congolese that receive full support for school fees and supplies as well.

Unfortunately, due to travel logistics, the week spent in Uganda was the same week as the inter-semester student holiday, leaving the school halls and classrooms virtually deserted. Fortunately however, I was able to visit one small…

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After the rousing and heart warming welcome I received on my first day’s visit to Kiryandongo, I spent the next two days immersed in our projects and meeting everyone I’d heard from in the community meetings one on one.  Partly to make personal connections with those who manage our projects, but also to gauge the effectiveness of our funding and prioritize the rest of our year.

The majority of our year’s funding was already committed to the operating costs of our primary clinic (staffing, medicine, and other supplies) and the school fees for the students we support, with…

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Meet Judah Yarberry: RMF Youth Team, Hawaii, Uganda, and Kenya

Judah is a 9 year old in Hilo, Hawaii. Since he was 6 years old he has been traveling with his mother to East Africa where she does relief work with RMF. Judah raises money for these trips by selling plants and greeting cards at his mother’s clinic, and doing yard service and other chores for friends, neighbors and supporters. He often collects and takes school supplies, toys, and other needed items to children in Uganda and Kenya. His favorite part about his travels is…

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As RMF’s Jonathan White travels through Africa, you can follow him in photos. Click here to see Jonathan’s complete collection of photos with short descriptions.

If you’d like to donate to this cause:

$50 covers 7 additional Nursery School students

$100 covers one Primary or Secondary student for one year

$200 can cover emergency malnutrition treatment for one child

$500 purchases two weeks of medicine for our clinic

Donate here.

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by Jonathan White, RMF Director of International Relations

Reporting from Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement, Uganda (May 2010)

 

What a day

Not sure if I have the right words to describe this humbling experience and very full day, but I’ll try… This was all on the first of three days of my visiting the Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement in Uganda, where RMF manages a broad initiative with the help of generous funding from the World Children’s Fund (WCF).  Kiryandongo, like a lot of refugee camps/settlements, is run by the UN refugee…

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The RMF Proust Questionnaire (as in the ones in the back of Vanity Fair magazine)

Charles Naku, Country Coordinator, Uganda

What is your idea of perfect happiness? All the necessities of life taken care of:  clean water, have a family, be able to sustain my family, be able to move if I want to and not be stuck in one place, healthy/body mind…I don’t need riches, just a simple house.  I always give away money if I have something extra, I’d rather give 10 and keep 10 then have 20 to myself.

What…

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by Jonathan White, RMF Director of International Relations — Reporting from the Field (May 3rd 2010)

photo: Road to Tororo

28 hours of travel, layovers and in-flight entertainment and I finally land in Entebbe, Kampala airport bright and early at 7:30 am local time.

This is a trip of firsts for me, first trip to Uganda, first to Africa for that matter, and the first time representing RMF in the field, so I’m a little excited and nervous upon arrival to say the least. Coming in on our approach to Entebbe airport…

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Update 2010

From RMF Team Uganda:

Aketch Tereza, a 16year old girl in senior four at Mama Kevina Comprehensive  School in Agururu Tororo, is one of the students traumatized by war and HIV/AIDS.

She is an orphan losing her father in war and losing her mother to HIV/AIDS.  She was raised by her grandparents enduring the hardship of the rural poor. School fees and daily meals were very difficult to attain.

Afflicted with nightmares of falling in a ditch and being chased by someone with ill intent Tereza took advantage of acupuncture…

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Bewyale Uganda Panyandoli Health Clinic Michael Lear, Director International Relations 2009 Field Update

School Fees Support Continues

RMF continues to provide tuition fee support for Kenyan Refugees attending preschool, primary and secondary schools. Children of all ages expressed their overwhelming gratitude through their performances during our recent visit.

A New Coat of Paint, Clean Beds, and Mosquito nets

Country Coordinator, Charles Naku and leaders at the Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement orchestrated the painting of bed frames and the interior and exterior of all the wards at the health clinic. Gallons of white and…

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Malaria and Upgrade to the Health Center at Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement

Update June 2009

Michael Lear, Director International Relations Beth Cole, Country Director Uganda

The Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement is comprised of approximately 5,000 Sudanese and Kenyan Refugees. Surrounding this area are over 10,000 Ugandan IDP’s (Internally Displaced People). The Panyadoli Health Center, which Real Medicine is upgrading, is the main health center for these communities.

Malaria

Malaria is perhaps the most pervasive of infectious diseases in the world, killing millions each year and rendering still millions more sick and bedridden. Traditionally,…

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Dispute over results of the 2007 Kenyan presidential election resulted in widespread demonstrations and ethnic violence. Tragically, over 300,000 people were displaced and as many as 12,000 Kenyans made their way into neighboring Uganda to find shelter in refugee camps.

One specific need among the refugee population was treatment for the psychological effects of trauma, and RMF was quick to get on the ground and assist, bringing acupuncture services to camps.

Recent studies suggest that acupuncture may be as effective as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for psychological conditions. “Acupuncture is a proven, easily transportable, and cost-effective healthcare…

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About Judah Yarberry

Judah Yarberry is a 9 year old in Hilo, Hawaii. Since he was 6 years old he has been traveling with his mother to East Africa where she does relief work with RMF. Judah raises money for these trips by selling plants and greeting cards at his mother’s clinic, and doing yard service and other chores for friends, neighbors and supporters. He often collects and takes school supplies, toys, and other needed items to children in Uganda and Kenya. His favorite part about his travels is meeting and playing with other children, and being around…

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About Judah Yarberry

Judah Yarberry is a 9 year old in Hilo, Hawaii. Since he was 6 years old he has been traveling with his mother to East Africa where she does relief work with RMF. Judah raises money for these trips by selling plants and greeting cards at his mother’s clinic, and doing yard service and other chores for friends, neighbors and supporters. He often collects and takes school supplies, toys, and other needed items to children in Uganda and Kenya. His favorite part about his travels is meeting and playing with other children, and being around…

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Snapshot of Uganda

December 07, 2008

Megan Yarberry is Project Coordinator in Africa for RMF’s Team Whole Health, and has been facilitating acupuncture trainings in East Africa since 2005.  She shares her experiences here.

We’ve been here in Kiryadongo for a few days now, but as most of us agree, it feels like much longer. Our days are full, and the stories, sights, and experiences are potent.

We first went to the camp on Thursday; driving down the dusty orange track through maize, sunflower, and bean fields. Charles gave us a rundown of the…

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Dear Friends of Real Medicine,

Jane and her precious two daughters have been caught in the crossfire.

Due to post election ethnic violence in Uganda, Jane, infected with AIDS and Tuberculosis, and her daughters Naomi and Lucy, were forced to seek refuge in Uganda. They had to leave life as they knew it behind and lost contact with their husband and father while fleeing Kenya. Support was made available for them at a temporary refugee camp in Uganda, but it was just that – temporary.

The Kenyan refugees were moved to a permanent camp in Northern…

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Upon reaching Tororo, Uganda, the RMF team was greeted by Srs. Clare and Margaret, Franciscan sisters working at the Mama Kevina Comprehensive Secondary School in Tororo, Uganda. The student population at Mama Kevina is mostly from Northern Uganda where the children have been affected by the ongoing wars, floods and HIV/AIDS. Many of the students’ parents were slaughtered by rebels or killed by AIDS and left as orphans. Two of the boys were forced to be children soldiers.

Srs. Clare and Margaret and other Franciscans provided aid relief at the temporary Kenyan refugee camp, Mulanda Transit Center on…

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I am Judah, and I travel to Uganda and Kenya in Africa. I raise money for doing this by selling plants, selling postcards, and doing service for people. I usually work on Fridays because I go to Connections Public Charter School and so I have Fridays off. On my next trip I’m going to bring the children I know near Mama Kevina School toothpaste, toothbrushes, toys and pencils. I ordered these with my aunt. I am also collecting used clothes at school for my friends in Africa.

My experiences in Africa were going to Mama Kevina school and…

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Recent

September 25, 2008

Recent

June 25, 2008 - Kenya

I’ve wanted to write sooner, but electricity is sporadic and our days are long and full, so here I am on a Sunday afternoon, ready to write.

It’s been almost 2 weeks since we left Hawaii. Took us 5 days to get to Tororo, Uganda, where the first trainings are taking place.

Judah & I flew from Hilo to Honolulu to L.A. to New York to London (where we took the tube to visit the National Museum of History during our 12 hour layover) to Nairobi.

In Nairobi we stopped over at the Abha Light offices,…

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We’ve now finished our 2nd training, which took place at Mama Kevina Comprehensive Secondary School. The school was established 2 years ago by a couple of (Ugandan) Franciscan nuns, Sister Clare and Sister Margaret. The primary 3 populations among the students: children affected by the war in the north (including “invisible children” and child soldiers), those affected by the flooding that affected ½ the country last year, and AIDS orphans. The remaining are just plain poverty stricken, or have other, more personal disasters.

The school is secondary, meaning for high school aged kids (although because of interrupted studies,…

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Dear all, Today’s our official "wrap-up" day here on the coast: tomorrow we return to Nairobi, flying out the following day.

Of course it all seems a bit bittersweet at this point, having finished all the people part of the work; just some reports to finish, documents to collate & the follow-up. Beth will be going out to the rehab center this afternoon to do some more yoga with the group since most of our time here has been focused on the acupuncture.

This week training the drug detox staff probably went the smoothest of the 3…

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In cooperation with The Pan African Acupuncture Project, Beth Cole, Director of RMF’s Whole Health Team, initiated a training for local health care providers, including nurses, midwives, physiotherapists, medical doctors, traditional healers and HIV/AIDS counselors, in acupuncture protocols in Uganda,  a country devastated by HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. The training teaches simple and effective acupuncture techniques that enable the health care providers to treat the devastating and debilitating symptoms associated with HIV/AIDS, malaria, and TB.

Our acupuncture project takes place in Ibanda in southwestern Uganda at Ibanda Hospital and at a local free clinic. Trainings…

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Acupuncture Project in Uganda

February 18, 2007 - Uganda

The Director of Real Medicine Foundation (RMF) Whole Health Team, Beth Cole, traveled to Uganda with the PanAfrican Acupuncture Project (PAAP) December 8 to December 22, 2006. The group of trainers consisted of five American volunteer Acupuncture Physicians, Richard Mandell, the founder of PAAP and Allen, the Ugandan coordinator and past trainee.

For two weeks we traveled through Uganda, a country devastated by HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, training nurses and midwives in acupuncture protocols to relieve pain and suffering.

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