“It is so easy to break down and destroy. The heroes are those who make peace and build.” ~ Nelson Mandela
Gerever Niwagaba (Co-founder & Program Manager).
It was hoped that 2022 would be a year when the world would shake off Covid19 and a sense of ‘normality’ would return. How wrong we were. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families that are caught up in the current crisis in the Ukraine. If only humans had the will and strength to live together in peace. We need more heroes.
Talking of heroes, we have many in our organisation and each year we recognise those people who have been selected by their peers, for the contribution they have made to KHC and our patients.
Employee of the Year 2021 – Wambalaya Timothy.
This recognition award is chosen by the staff.
Timothy has been with KHC for the past 4 years. As a Data Clerk, he is responsible for inputting client’s information in the Electronic Medical Records system and ensuring proper documentation for the Health Management Information System (HMIS) registers. Capturing this information is important for us to manage patient’s medical treatment and the registers provide the Ministry of Health with important information to assist them in decision-making, planning and delivery of health services.
Timothy continuously mentor’s clinicians in using the HIMS tool. It has resulted in improved documentation, data quality and also equipped clinicians with basic skills in information technology which has improved care data capture. These measures has helped rank KHC as one of the best performing medical facilities.
His ability to use technology to create and simplify data analysis has helped staff have a greater understanding of our business.
Congratulations Timothy on your Employee of the Year Award.
Manager of the Year – 2021: Dr. Kinyatta Amanya Bertha.
This recognition award is decided by the Management Committee.
Dr. Bertha has been with KHC for the past 5 years. She leads by example and has instilled as sense of trust and respect with her colleagues. One of the key aspects of her role is to ensure there is open communication with the staff. With Covid19 and the lockdowns it has made it difficult to support our patients and working together as team was even more important as staff who were also experiencing their own personal pressures due to the pandemic.
‘I think it is important to encourage people to be the best they can and in turn this can only better serve our clients’ she says.
Dr Betha is not afraid to get her ‘hands dirty’ and if she sees something needs doing, she does it, or if the team are overwhelmed, she will support them. This is not the first time that Dr Betha has been recognised peers for her outstanding performance. In 2020 she was runner up in the Manager of the Year award. Great work Dr. Bertha.
Community Volunteer of the Year – 2021: Nabikolo Fatuma
This recognition award is chosen by the Community Committee.
Fatima has worked as a community volunteer for the past 3 years. Fatuma is a very active supporter in the community and the service that the community volunteers provide is incredibly important. They work with the community to identify sick people suffering in their homes. They provide community family planning services, Tuberculosis screening and work with the most at risk population (MARPS).
Fatuma’s main role is with the Elimination of Mother-To-Child Transmission (EMTCT) project. The pregnant mothers are tested for HIV and if positive Fatuma works with the mothers through their pregnancy journey to ensure that their babies remain negative. The mothers are referred to medical facilities for the birth of their children.
She enjoys her work and is grateful to the KHC team for their encouragement and support. KHC is grateful for your wonderful contribution Fatuma well done.
Congratulations to our worthy recipients.
Our Little Heroes
Even though much of what happens in the world is beyond our control we need to focus on what we can do to provide hope and support to those around us. At the New Hope Children’s Hostel, the children provide us with inspiration and set us an example of hope in adversity.
We thought we would share some images of the children’s Christmas party and of course the all-important cake. It provided them with a fun distraction for a day.
Our Big Heroes
Our supporters continue to provide a lifeline for those who are disadvantaged and suffering and need our help. Through you we are able to make a difference to many people’s lives by being there.
Recently Rotarians from Kireka Movers must have heard our prayers as in January they arrived with food for the children’s hostel. Thank you very much for your generous contribution. Providing the children regular nutritious food especially during their treatment is vital to their recovery.
Back: Gerever, Rtn Lillian Mugyenyi (Club PR) Change Maker President Rtn Patrick Osele, Dr Sam, Rtn Edith Aseku and Francis
Front: Rtn Hellen with two of the hostel children and Rtn Aguti Rose
Samaritan Healthcare & Hospice has been a long-term friend and supporter of KHC. We are grateful for the recent donation of food for the children and their caregivers, and general hostel operations and their continued support of helping children access an education. We value our friendship.
Nice Way to Share your Birthday
William Matovu has a long and active association with KHC and is currently on the KHC Board as the Client Representative. He recently mobilized his friends to celebrate their birthdays with the children at the hostel and provided food, and a celebratory cake and soft drinks. Great win-win for the friends and the children.
William is no stranger to helping people. He is currently working as an HIV Peer Educator with the Love to Love organisation. His focus is lifting up the lives of Ugandan youth, particularly those living with HIV.
Mental Health issues are rising and some of the reasons are:
- Unemployment & Financial Instability. Today, the global market is uncertain, volatile, and unstable. This rising uncertainty about the future is giving birth to mental health issues.
- Substance Abuse. These days, many people have turned to drugs and alcohol to cope with failures, problems. It can make people feel energized quickly but has devastating effects in the long term.
- Neglect, Trauma, Child Abuse. You might hear people say, ‘the child will forget once he/she grows up,’ but that’s not true. Traumatic childhood experiences often stay in children’s minds forever and have adverse impacts later in life.
- Excessive Usage of Social Media. Do you enjoy staying online? Although human beings are social creatures overuse of social media can fuel depression, anxiety and isolation. Social media has also become a hub of cyberbullying.
- Unhealthy lifestyles. not getting enough sleep or consuming a healthy diet can exhaust the brain. Similarly, the practice of overthinking situations can trigger anxiety and stress. You might come across negative thoughts and feelings of failure, hindering your ability to succeed.
So, What Can We Do?
Recently Sarah Komugisha KHC Medical Services Manager & Board Member (Founders Representative). gave a presentation to the Rotary Club of Kireka Movers. Sarah has been with the club from its inception, last year she served as a charter membership officer and currently is serving as the Vice president.
Sarah’s discussion was on “ Self Care – A Privilege and a Responsibility.” Below we have extracted some of the key points.
What is Self Care? It is taking care of: your mind and thoughts; physical health and body: your emotions and behaviours and your spiritual health.
Benefits of Self Care: More energy; Job satisfaction; Life satisfaction; Gain perspective – better prioritizing of tasks; Model Self Care for others; Enjoy career/life balance; Increase in happiness; Mental and physical health benefits; Enjoy healthy relationships; and Ethical practice.
Signs you need to focus more on Self Care: Increased anxiety; Decrease in patience; Difficulty relaxing; Changes in memory and focus; Feeling more irritable; Experiencing less fulfillment at work.
Our lives are very busy and many people are trying to juggle their personal and professional life. We need to unclutter our lives and make sure we separate our personal /family life from our work life. To be able to do this you need a plan.
Individualized Energy Plan (IEP)
- Select Self Care activities such as exercise; healthy eating; sharing mealtimes talking with the family; spending time with family and friends; listen to music; read; Hobbies and take 15 minutes each day to do yoga/ meditation
- Identify any barriers to these activities
- Identify your assets
- Develop an accountability plan – share
- Monitor your activities
- Celebrate successes
Professional Strategies
- Utilize Time Diaries; Document your activities and prioritise; see where time is well spent and not well spent; Take over control of your time.
- Check in with your assertiveness; Are you overly accommodating? Are you doing other people’s work? Ask for help.
- Add Self Care on your annual evaluation.
Remember:
- Your wellbeing is as important as every other person’s wellbeing
- Looking after yourself isn’t selfish
- Caring for yourself you are better able to care for others.
Holistic Care not only deals with the medical issues but the social issues as well, as demonstrated in the story below of Paul’s journey.
Paul is 41 years old and was diagnosed HIV Positive he was provided with counselling and started on ART. However, he felt useless and thought that he was going to die.“I started selling all my properties including land, thinking that death was near to me. I wanted to enjoy life. I went away, I had multiple sexual partners, went off my medication and spent my money. My family members hated me because I would not listen and couldn’t accept that I wasn’t going to die. I wanted to enjoy life and die happy. Death is not as easy as we think!”
Paul had no appetite and lost weight; he became bed ridden and he had no support. He was reunited with Kawempe Home Care through the “Care Bring Back to Care campaign. “ He was diagnosed with spinal TB and started TB treatment, provided with food support, counselling and weekly home visits to check on his health. The KHC staff spoke to his family to help and cook meals and as they also had no food, they could share the food provided.
As you can see the good news is that Paul has now recovered from TB and is on his ART medication.“I would not have made it if it wasn’t for the KHC team. I regret selling my properties; however, I believe that with all services rendered to me by KHC, l will be able to work hard and buy other properties to replace what I sold and help my family.”
Keeping the Lights On!
One of the key issues we have at the facility and the hostel is that we have power outages and this does inhibit our ability to do our work. We rely heavily on a backup generator and the current one has reached the end of its life and we are excited that we can now replace it.
“We take for granted at home that when we turn on the lights or the taps, we have a ready supply of electricity and water. I know how hard and frustrating it is for the team at KHC when they have numerous outages as I have sat through them with them!” says Carol.
Thank you Carol & Tom from Australia, for donating a new generator.
At KHC we are so grateful for your support and prayers especially during these difficult times. Let’s each of us be a hero and make peace and build.
Keep up the great work KHC.