November 2020 COVID-19: Confirmed 21,049 Deaths: 206 https://covid19.gou.go.ug/
Christmas 2020 and we wish you a very happy and blessed Christmas and a new year with COVID-19 under control so that we can return to our normal ways of life. We await the birth of Harriet’s third child by Caesarean Section planned for 31 December. She will have three children under four and we pray that the delivery is safe and that mother and child are well. We must congratulate Harriet and Ruth in Kumi for their continued dedication and love for the children with disabilities and malnourishment. They have worked diligently with the Kumi Hospital Rehab team who have improved the lives of so many children in need. I shall go through the photos below as these demonstrate some of the children we are helping: 1. A child born with club feet is referred for surgery without which the deformity becomes permanent with expensive possible surgical intervention required. Treated when young with serial plastering, it is expected that the feet will be functional and the child will lead a normal life. 2. A cerebral palsy teenager in need of a wheelchair. She will be added to our continually growing list. 3. Susan Opio was given a tricycle and a hand sewing machine a while ago and she has returned for repairs to the tricycle. We are also funding the repair of her sewing machine so that she continue with her tailoring business. Follow-ups are so important otherwise our initial interventions can become worthless. 4. We now have five amputees for prosthetic legs which we are funding with the Kumi Hospital Orthopaedic Workshop ready to manufacture these. Thank you to Rotary Jaipur for supplying the materials. 5. More and more severe Gluteal Fibrosis youngsters come requesting surgery. We do our best but our resources would be swiftly depleted if we helped them all. 6. Food has become very expensive with the pandemic and many more children suffer from malnutrition as a result. Not all children look emaciated as some bodies swell with the condition “kwashiorkor”. “Kwashiorkor is a serious condition that can happen when a person does not consume enough protein. Severe protein deficiency can lead to fluid retention, which can make the stomach look bloated. Kwashiorkor is most common in children, especially if they do not have access to adequate nutrition soon after they stop breastfeeding. If a child experiences kwashiorkor, they need immediate medical attention.” We continue to admit these children for medical and nutritional care and to educate the mothers on the importance of nutrition. We like to follow up these families when we are in Uganda but, of course, this has not been possible since I returned in March. We thank Rose for her role in running the Kumi Hospital Nutrition Unit in liaison with the staff on the children’s ward. 7. Ruth continues with her clinics with the mothers tested for COVID-19 on arrival. Antony, Kumi Hospital physiotherapist, assesses the children followed by treatment and demonstration of the exercises so that the mothers can continue at home. These families are followed up during fieldwork. Last but not least, I must thank our Trustees for their continuing input to the Kumi Community Foundation. The Charity Commission requirements are in order, the accounts balance, our social networking is highly successful with Facebook, our web page and PayPal and we are continuing with discussion on our education policy. It has not been without hitches, I hasten to add! Thank you to Lynn, Lynne, Lynne (yes, we have an abundance of Lynn(e)’s, and Michele! Of course, without the support of our friends, family and everyone else, these children would remain without hope. Thank you! So we now look forward to a successful 2021 and to continuing with our updates in 2021.
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