ElectricAid has a long association and partnership with Kitovu Hospital in Uganda. it is a deeper relationship than most – two ElectricAid members (Willie Roche, then of Great Island, and Cera Slevin, now of GWM) have spent considerable lengths of time as volunteers in Kitovu, imparting their electrical and engineering knowledge. Since 2004, ElectricAid has funded 15 projects for the hospital complex with a total of €159,000. The projects were electrical (mostly solar), water infrastructure, and construction/renovation of wards and accommodation. In that time, the hospital has been transformed in scale, in numbers of patients served, and in the services offered. Originally founded by the Medical Missionaries of Mary as a rural health clinic, it is now a fully-fledged regional hospital under the management of an indigenous religious order. One MMM sister, Dr Maura Lynch, remains as the senior surgeon.
One big gap in the service was the complete lack of an up-to-date radiography service – all X-rays involved an off-site and expensive private provider. In 2012, we rejected an application from Kitovu for the construction of a new radiography department – at €45,500, it was well beyond our scale and our funding maximum. They recognised that they needed co-funders to spread the load. They did their homework, husbanded their resources and came back in 2015 with another proposal. ElectricAid was able to part-fund the construction of the X-ray block with €16,000. The balance was made up by the hospital’s own resources, and by another funder. Similarly, and shortly afterwards, we were again able to part-fund the acquisition of a state-of-the-art X-ray system from Siemens – contributing another €16,000, out of a total cost of €43,000.
The building was constructed successfully, and the radiography service was up-and -running immediately. This was a huge step forward for the hospital, and for the people it serves. It’s a great example of collaborative funding, and of local people and institutions taking on more responsibility for their own development.
Read the Hospital project reports here 15-A-019 Report 04042016… and here. 15-A-007 Report 04042016
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