St. Francis Health Center
Striving to Grow
St. Frances Health Center in Anaka, according to Sr. Liberata, Diocesan Health Coordinator, is the most disadvantaged of the 10 health facilities in the Archdiocese of Gulu. “It was started basically during the civil war in the north, as a result of the inadequate medical services in the region, especially for the schools and the Internally Displaced People in the parish. It was mainly providing dispensary and curative services. “ Some of their challenges include limited space, poor staff accommodations, drug shortages and patients who can afford very little for user fees. They receive very little from government grants compared to other health centers and have not met the criteria for the support of performance based aid
Despite all these obstacles, St. Francis continues to make progress. GuluHelp provided salary support so that basic health care can be provided. A new site for the center was acquired and allocated by the community for new constructions. With with assistance of GuluHelp Foundation, construction of a full service facility, including maternity, has begun. Additional funding is needed to complete the project. GuluHelp would also like to be instrumental in helping St. Francis to reach criteria needed to obtain help from donors that incentivize improved performance.
Staff Support for HealthCenters
St. Joseph Health Center in Minakulu
Inspired and impressed by the sacrifice and dedication of the staff at St. Joseph’s Health Center, GuluHelp’s initial and primary intervention has been in healthcare support. Most of the staff had endured for almost one year in a spirit of service without receiving their pay. Thus, GuluHelp intervened at a critical moment.
The nominal user fees hardly meet the basic operational needs, yet the center offers a great service to the community. Other needs of the Health center include improving the provisions for pre and post natal as well as delivery care.
Counseling Institute in Gulu
Facing the Challenge of Trauma And Recovery From War
By Fr. JIno Mwaka
When, in 2003 (June 22 – 25th) Archbishop John Baptist Odama of the Archdiocese of Gulu led his fellow Religious Leaders (Anglican Communion, Moslem Faith and Orthodox) to spend four nights out in the cold in solidarity with the “night commuters” in the open spaces in the Bus station in Gulu, the world’s attention was then seriously raised to the devastating impact that the war/insurgency in Northern Uganda. Thereafter many journalists and stories (for example Dateline – aired on Aug 22, 2005 on NBC, The Invisible Children, etc.) brought to light the horrific experiences that the ordinary people were experiencing for about 17 years. The Religious Leaders (Acholi Religious Leaders Peace Initiative) continued to be a voice for peace and reconciliation in the region.
Since around 2006, there has been significant improvement in the security situation and the people have embarked on the process of rebuilding their lives. However, the effects and the trauma of the more than two decades of war, in which the people have experienced forced abductions, particularly of the children, brutal killings and mutilations, destruction of homes and property, displacement into camps where people lived in deplorable conditions, living in constant fear, and the humiliation of parents and families continue to haunt the people of the region.
These constitute not just human challenges but also pastoral challenges for ministry in the region. In embracing the challenge, the Archdiocese of Gulu is working to provide basic counseling skills to improve the effectiveness of all pastoral agents and social workers in the region. It is also embarking on, among others, preparing professionally prepared counselors to serve the great needs of the region. This college level program will begin at the University of the Sacred Heart. Our unique focus would be the health of mind and hearts for holistic development, integrating psychosocial health and ethical values as important tools in rebuilding the war torn region.
We see this as part of our ministry to promote peace, healing, understanding and collaboration among our people. We believe that this will be of great service not only to Ugandans, but also to our neighboring countries that have shared similar experiences.
If you would like support this initiative in any way, please contact me. We appreciate the prayers and support.
Fr. Jino Mwaka
University of the Sacred Heart
From Initiative to Reality
GuluHelp Foundation is honored to be instrumental in the progress of University of the Sacred in Gulu. This critical initiative for health of mind and body and for the promotion of peace and healing in the devastated region of Northern Uganda is now a reality. USHG now has students in the Bachelors of Counseling Psychology Program and the Bachelors of Information Systems program. A scholarship program is in the planning stages to help offset the socio-economic environment of our current and potential students. This fledgling university needs both prayerful and financial assistance to grow and develop its programs and to reach out to the community. For more information and updates about USGH visit their website at http://ush.ac.ug.
Current site of the University of the Sacred Heart
