Village Blog

Today we visited the Dr. Gilbert Mateeka's hospital in Kabale, western Uganda. Dr. Gilbert also assists Juna Amagara with their medical outreach initiatives, including the new JAM health clinic in Rubanda, Uganda.

The Rugarama Hospital is very impressive in so many ways. And while they face many limitations, the hospital keeps pushing forward - doing some really incredible things.

There is a NICU department where 6 babies were staying in incubators as we came through. Most are premature deliveries. Then there is a baby department for those who are a bit older. 8 babies were in this room, with their mothers all nearby. When they saw we wanted to snap a photo, the moms in the room ran out to gather the other moms - all wanted to be in the photo with their baby. Then we sang a song with them and prayed for them.

Along the way, at every nurses break room, we found a newborn. A newborn who had been abandoned. These babies don't have mom's so the nurses take turns caring for them until they can find a home for them. There were four such babies at the hospital.

There was also a room for women (probably 25 patients in this room) - we sang and prayed for them as well as the men's room. We were their entertainment for the day and they seemed to love it! It was fun bringing a little joy into their lives, if even for a short period.

Then we visited the pediatric area - and found that most of the illnesses stemmed malnourishment. So the hospital has a program to not just get the baby healthy but to educate the mother - teaching them what to feed their children and to raise rabbits or chickens at home to add nourishment to their meals. Really great stuff.

There was a "theater" - or what we would call an "operating room" that we toured after slipping into Crocks to minimize germs entering the room.

The hospital has beds for nearly 200 people. It is usually full. Staff? TWO doctors, 6 EMT level nurses, and 30 some general nurses... (Not to mention a nursing school on site where they are training 200 nurses.)

The greatest thing, however, is the heart od Dr. Gilbert and his staff for the Lord and their ability to pray with their patients and to offer hope from the words of scripture. They are making a huge difference in their community - and doing in the name of Christ for the glory of God.

Praise the Lord!