Train healthcare workers in rural Uganda

Updates from the Field:

Updates from the Field (or Progress Reports) on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.

Keep Up-to-Date

Subscribe to "Updates from the Field" by E-Mail
Subscribe to "Updates from the Field" by RSS Feed

Index of Updates from the Field

First Medic to Medic student sponsored in Uganda!

By Nam Thaker - Project Co-ordinator, January 31, 2012 02:28 PM

Gulu University student bus

Thanks to your help we've now started sponsoring our very first students in Uganda! In November we visited both Makerere University in Kampala and Gulu University in rural northern Uganda. At Makerere we met the Dean of Pharmacy and were given a list of applications from students interested in getting Medic to Medic Scholarships. After interviewing them all and discussing the shortlist with the Dean, we finally agreed on sponsoring a first year student from the village of Nabuti in the Mukomo District, who was struggling to raise his first year fees. He hopes to return back to his village to set up a pharmacy someday. We’re excited to include him to the Medic to Medic family and look forward to building a closer relationship with him over the next few years.

Our trip to Gulu proved to be quite an eye-opener! Having known about its decades of conflict and violence, we weren't too sure of what to expect. Ironically, what we found was a quiet and peaceful village full of friendly and helpful people. There was the general sense that people were keen not to dwell on the past but to move on and embrace this new era of peace. At the university we met with several of the faculty members, including the Dean of Medicine and the Medical Librarian, and were shown around their facilities. They have an average intake of 80 medical students a year, however only 50 places are funded through the government. The other, self-funded places, are often too expensive for many potential students from the northern region, which is where Medic to Medic is looking to give scholarships. With your help, we look forward to going back to Gulu in August and identifying these students that are unable to find any other funding.

You can still continue to support us with this project by helping us to raise awareness of the huge lack of healthcare workers in Uganda. Also we’re on Virgin Money Giving, which a great site for fundraising so please do think of us when undertaking a challenge or holding an event. For regular updates on what’s happening at Medic to Medic, you can sign up for our newsletter on our website, become a fan on Facebook and follow us on Twitter (@medictomedic).

Thank you once again for your support!

Main entrance to Gulu University main campus

Gulu University main library

Makerere University - new School of Pharmacy

Uganda Project Finally Able To Start!

By Nam Thaker - Project Leader, September 28, 2011 01:13 PM

Thank you immensely for your donation to this project! After the programme success in Malawi and nearly two years of planning and trying to raise enough funds to get the Uganda project up and going, we’re finally at a position to get it started. In early November, Medic to Medic (M2M) will be visiting Makerere University in Kampala and Gulu University in rural northern Uganda. We will be working with the staff at the universities to highlight medical and pharmacy students from deprived and rural backgrounds that have the grades but not the funds to enter their course. Any already enrolled students in danger of dropping out of their course due to financial strains, will also be considered for M2M sponsorship.

We’re extremely excited to be able to finally start this project, especially in northern Uganda, which has a history of brutal conflict from which many are still recovering. With the first 40 medical students at Gulu University graduating just last year, we look forward to enhancing this number in future with your help.

You can still continue to support us with this project by helping us to raise awareness of the huge lack of healthcare workers in Uganda. Also we’re on Virgin Money Giving, which a great site for fundraising so please do think of us when undertaking a challenge or holding an event. For regular updates on what’s happening at M2M, you can sign up for our newsletter on our website, become a fan on Facebook and follow us on Twitter (@medictomedic).

Thank you once again for your support!

Links: