Medical

Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and the region of Nkuringo is a remote area, 2 hours from the nearest tarmac road. Access to medical care can be tricky and costly. The majority in Nkuringo are peasant farmers, predominantly living off the land, with very little income for even the most basic medical needs.

Gerald was a teenager who was helping his parents with the avocado harvest. In 2019 he fell out of the avocado tree and broke his back. His parents loved and cared for him as best they could but they had little knowledge of what to do, and no money to seek medical attention. Due to the time he was lying on a bed, without being moved, he developed deep bedsores going down to his bones. Gerald’s parents heard of Asgario, our contact in Nkuringo, and contacted him. With money raised by NECS, Gerald was able to go to hospital, his bed sores healed with medical care, we sorted a wheelchair with the assistance of Motivation charity in Africa, a disabled wing was added to the school and Gerald was able to return to education. He made us all enormously proud in 2024 by passing his Senior 7 with the highest grade – top of his class. We couldn’t give him the ability to walk again, but we gave him the tools to be independent.

Jane developed an enormous goitre in her neck. Jane was a single mother with children to support. She knew she couldn’t afford the medical fees and was petrified of having the operation for fear of what might happen to her, and her children. Money was raised but Jane was given the time and support to make the decision that was right for her. She decided to go ahead with the operation which was a huge success. Jane is able to continue supporting her children and is an active member of Team women. It’s pretty special hugging her and seeing her huge smile when you visit Nkuringo.

These are just two of the many examples of how we’ve helped individuals in Nkuringo. However we have also help the community in general by providing such projects as donating a motorcycle for the HIV clinic for delivery of drugs to save sick people walking for hours to collate their medicines, providing new mattresses in the maternity ward, first aid kits for the schools, and established the Red Box project in schools to ensure the girls don’t suffer from sanitary poverty.

Some people choose to support medical needs by donating monthly and others react to our emergency appeals which we do through Facebook and our newsletter. Even the smallest donation makes a difference, not only saving individual lives but giving them independence and allowing them to continue supporting their families.

We are very conscious that raising money for a medical situation can be deeply personal. We always ensure that the individual, or the guardian if it’s for a child, gives us permission to share medical information, so that we can use this to raise funds for their treatment.