By Yasiri J. Kasango Acting, health care and writing are Stella Mirembe’s passions. However, among the three, Mirembe would prefer she is not asked where her love is. She does not know.
During her secondary school, Mirembe spent time fine-tuning her acting skills. After the six years of acting in secondary school, it was writing that earned Mirembe her first ever payment in life. Writing also brought her international recognition.
While in Senior Six long holidays, Mirembe was writing articles for Upwork, a web-based platform that was linking her to people who wanted writers.
However, when university studies came calling, she put writing on hold. She hopes to resurrect her writing passion later. In 2018, Mirembe joined Uganda Christian University to study towards a Bachelor of Public Health. She says her course in public health will help her engage different communities on good health practices as well as help her write better health-related articles.
It was Mirembe’s late father who first saw her potential in acting. While in Senior Two, Elias Kyewalabye encouraged his daughter to act a play off the famous book, Betrayal in the City, by Kenyan playwright Francis Imbuga. He was impressed by Mirembe’s performance and encouraged her not to drop her passion. Kyewalabye has since passed on, and Mirembe is working hard to achieve the dreams of her father.
Stella Mirembe
She currently graces the TV screens as an actress in a Ugandan series, Prestige, which airs on DStv’s Pearl Magic Prime. The channel is dedicated to Ugandan local content.
As a child, Miremebe used to act in Sunday school plays. She attended Uganda’s Gayaza High School and, later, Makerere College School for her A’level. Even while in secondary school, acting was part of Mirembe’s life.
“In Gayaza High School, I acted in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” she says.
Internationally, Mirembe is a great admirer of Jennifer Aniston, an American actress, producer and businesswoman.
The outbreak of Covid-19 and the subsequent closure of schools forced Mirembe to go back into acting. In August 2020, she exploited the chance of carrying on her dream. Her mother, Dr. Elizabeth Kyewalabye, encouraged her to audition for the Prestige series when calls were put out. And she was successful. She says acting helped to relieve her of some of the stress occasioned by the lockdown in 2020.
When the government announced the reopening of schools, Mirembe was excited to return for face-to-face classes so she fulfils her dream of becoming a health worker, so she is able to help communities around her to exercise better health practices.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
To support Uganda Christian University programs, students, activities and services, go to www.ugandapartners.org and click on the “donate” button, or contact UCU Partners Executive Director, Mark Bartels, at m.t.bartels@ugandapartners.org
Also, follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook
Mark Bartels and Ashton Davey of UCU Partners pose with E-lab writers at the University in Mukono, Uganda, on May 18. Photo by Ivor Sempa
By Eriah Lule and Jimmy Siyasa Donning a baby blue shirt, khaki pants and quasi-safari shoes, Mark Bartels arrived at TheStandard community newspaper office just in time for the 10 a.m. visit. Not even a downpour would stand in the way of the May 18 meeting. Bartels, the executive director of Uganda Christian University (UCU) Partners, was scheduled to meet UCU students engaged in the Partners e-lab program that was launched on the UCU Mukono campus in January.
John Semakula, the Partners e-lab communications coordinator, who had arrived with Bartels, ushered him to a round table in the middle of TheStandard newsroom. At the table, Semakula and Bartels joined Constantine Odongo, editor of the Partners e-lab pilot and also with New Vision, and Ashton Davey, a Partners fundraising coordinator.
The meeting, which was part of Bartel’s activities during his one-week visit to Uganda in May, started with some of the students sharing their experiences working for the e-lab program.
Mark Bartels, executive director, UCU Partners, in Standard newsroom in May 2021.
“I have learned to tell success stories while observing journalistic integrity and ethics,” Jimmy Siyasa, one of the students, said. “While I was taught to do this in my undergraduate studies, I did not practice as much as I’m doing now, ever since I started contributing content for the UCU Partners e-lab blog.” Siyasa has completed his bachelor’s program with the graduation twice canceled due to covid lockdowns.
Grace Bisoke, an international student from the Democratic Republic of Congo, thanked the UCU Partners for being inclusive in its mentorship program.
“I am grateful for the opportunity that you have afforded us, as students, and more so, someone from another country,” she said. “Being part of this mentorship program has enabled me to have the nose for news and also be able to write a story.”
Ivor Sempa asked for logistical support, especially 300mm camera lenses, so that the team is able to produce high quality photos, which will enrich the content on the blog.
Semakula observed that the students on the programme have benefited in terms of skills acquisition and financially.
“Thank you very much for the stipend,” he said. “They afford us our daily bread and enable the students to meet some basic needs, so as to continue working for UCU Partners,” he said. He referred to the stipend that Partners pays to students for their contributions in terms of articles published on the Partners blog and for Internet.
Semakula beseeched Bartels to engage the university top management in order to facilitate the speedy revival of The Standard newspaper. Operations of the university newspaper were halted in March 2020, when the Ugandan government closed education institutions to reduce the rate of the spread of the coronavirus. The institutions were allowed to resume physical classes in March this year, only to be shut again on June 7, 2021 as Uganda imposed new restrictions following a second wave of Covid-19. Recently, the newspaper launched a digital platform. However, the print platform is still in limbo.
“We’ve learnt that you’ve been meeting the Vice Chancellor and Deputy Vice Chancellor,” Semakula said. “Please highlight our plight as a newsroom. We need funding so that we can begin to fully operate.”
Bartels commended the team for performing beyond the organization’s expectations. “You have proved our experiment right. I am grateful for your services,” he said.
“The quality of work coming from the e-lab and the podcast team is really good and I appreciate the thoughtfulness, time and resources that the students are investing,” Bartels continued, reminding the students that telling a story is just as important as the story itself.
Bartels said his meeting with UCU Vice Chancellor, Assoc. Prof. Aaron Mushengyezi, was to get to know him (Vice-Chancellor) and understand his priorities. He also later met with Prof. Monica Chibita, the Dean of the Faculty of Journalism, Media and Communication, among other top university officials.
He later visited the UCU School of Medicine in Mengo, Kampala, where he interacted with the Dean of the School, Dr. Gerald Tumusiime.
“Currently, we are working on equipping the School of Medicine to match the standard requirements, in order for it to produce quality graduates,” Bartels said.
Partners also has over time given scholarships and tuition top-ups to UCU students.
“We are now planning to support faculties to do community outreaches so as to impact the society,” Bartels added.
Uganda Partners, a nonprofit, based in Pennsylvania USA and in existence for more than two decades, started the e-lab this year to give a resume-building platform to UCU’s journalism and communication students through hands-on experience to supplement their in-class learning. The products benefit Partners by providing information to current and potential contributors to the NGO.
To support Uganda Christian University programs, students, activities and services, go to www.ugandapartners.org and click on the “donate” button, or contact UCU Partners Executive Director, Mark Bartels, at m.t.bartels@ugandapartners.org
Also, follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook
Some new UCU Deans and Heads of Departments present for announcement at a May 2021 function at the Hamu Mukasa University Library. Photo/ Israel Kisakye
By Jimmy Siyasa The Uganda Christian University has announced a change of the guard within its faculties and departments.
The announcement was made by the university’s Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, the Rev. Dr. John Kitayimbwa, during the farewell for some of the outgoing leaders and the unveiling of the new guard. The ceremony took place on May 10 in the Learning Commons Room, located at the Hamu Mukasa University Library.
The Rev. Dr. John Kitayimbwa unveils a list of some new deans and heads of departments. Photo/ Israel Kisakye
“Covid-19 has shifted the demands,” UCU Vice Chancellor Associate Professor Aaron Mushengyezi said as he urged the new leaders to be creative in their work. “And so, as we come in to lead, please take note, you are not going to lead with the ordinary tools your predecessors have led with. You will require new tools because wholly duplicating what your predecessors did, may not work.”
Due to the “new normal” presented by the Covid-19 pandemic, Mushengyezi said all programs will have a digital equivalent.
“Covid-19 has changed the academic landscape,” he said. “And so, one of the main tasks for you is to pioneer and continue to consolidate e-learning.”
The university’s council chairperson, the Rt. Rev. Can. Prof. Alfred Olwa, congratulated the new leaders and thanked the outgoing for their dedication and hard work.
The newly appointed Head of the Department of Literature and Languages, Dr. James Tabu Busimba, was delighted by his new role at UCU. Busimba recently retired from a public university, Makerere, after clocking 60 years.
“I think serving in an institution that has one of its core values as Christ-centeredness is such a golden opportunity,” Busimba said. “I am grateful to God.”
According to the Rev. Dr. John Kitayimbwa, the Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, who unveiled the new team, the UCU Statute for Appointment of deans and heads of departments mandates that the appointments are ratified by the University Senate and then submitted to the institution’s human resource board for consideration.
Comments from some of the leaders “To me, serving in Uganda Christian University is building the kingdom of God,” Professor Martin Lwanga, former Dean, School of Business, said. “It is a privilege, and some of us are still available to serve at this great institution.”
Eriah Nsubuga, the Head of the Fine Arts Department, said: “It is unusual times. But an opportunity for us to reengineer how we do things. And one thing I like about UCU is that they care for their staff.”
“This year, we are changing direction as a university,” said Prof. Kukunda Elizabeth Bacwayo, the dean of the School of Research and Post Graduate Studies. “We shall provide a bigger amount of funding to professors, to lead various teams of researchers.”
The changes that were announced in May 2021
Faculty/ Department
New Head of Department
Predecessor
School of Research and Post-Graduate Studies
Dr. Emilly Comfort Maractho (Now the Director- UCU Africa Policy Center) Also Head of the Department of Journalism and Media Studies, until contract expires on 31 May 2021
Reverend Professor Lawrence Adams
Faculty of Social Sciences
Mr. Kasule Kibirige Solomon
Department of Social Work and Social Administration.
(Expired contract )
Contract renewed
Faculty of Education and Arts
Department of Languages and Literature
Dr. James Taabu Busimba
Mr. Peter Mugume
Honors College
Ms. Pamela Tumwebaze
Reverend Abel Kibedi
Department of Art and Design
Dr. Eriah Nsubuga
Dr. Joel Masagazi
Department of Education
Dr. Mary Kagoire
School of Business
Department of Management and Entrepreneurship
Mr. Martin Kabanda
Mrs. Elsie Mirembe Nsiyona
Faculty of Health Sciences
Department of Public Health
Dr. Edward Mukooza
Dr. Ekiria Kikule
ASSOCIATE DEAN APPOINTMENTS
Faculty
New Dean
Predecessor
Faculty of Social Sciences
Rev. Dr. Andrew David Omona
Prof. MarySsonko Nabachwa
School of Business
Mr. Vincent Kisenyi
Assoc. Professor Martin Lwanga
School of Medicine
Dr. Gerald Tumusiime
Has been acting Dean, but now is the substantive Dean
To support Uganda Christian University programs, students, activities and services, go to www.ugandapartners.org and click on the “donate” button, or contact UCU Partners Executive Director, Mark Bartels, at m.t.bartels@ugandapartners.org.
Also, follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook
Eziuzo Chizoba Oluebubechukwu (far right) with Kampala family and friends who hosted her during the Covid-19 lockdown.
Story and Photos By Grace Bisoke March 18, 2020, began like any other day for many people in Uganda. President Yoweri Museveni was set to address the nation that Wednesday evening. The issue of coronavirus disease was to take center stage in his remarks.
To the members of the President’s cabinet who had had a meeting two days before, this address was not an ordinary one. There were major decisions agreed upon. And the President was expected to make the communication public. Among that public were Uganda Christian University (UCU) faculty and national and international students.
Some of the issues had already leaked to the press. In fact, that day, the lead headline in the New Vision, Uganda’s leading daily newspaper, was Government to Suspend Church Services. Not many people believed this. And they were right to have doubts. As of that Wednesday, there had been 200,179 confirmed Covid-19 cases in 163 countries. Of those, 7,958 had died. And Uganda was not part of those statistics.
At 8 p.m., Museveni began his address by educating the nation about Covid-19 and how it was spread. One of his pronouncements confirmed the lead headline in the New Vision that day. “In the interest of our people’s health, prayers in churches, mosques, open air prayers and services should be suspended …with immediate effect,” Museveni said.
Munyakazi Mugabe Alexis, standing in front of Senyonyi and Eva Nsibambi university halls, where he stayed during the nationwide lockdown.
But before announcing the closure of prayer places, Museveni had announced the closure of schools, starting March 20, 2020. “All these institutions, without exception, should close so that we deny this virus high concentration. We don’t want the virus to find dry grass ready for ignition,” Museveni said.
As students were still coming to terms with the abrupt closure of schools, the borders and the international airport, too, were closed two days later – adding to the anxiety of UCU students from outside the country. Many opted to remain in the hostels where they were residing, but the unease increased as they ran out of cash. On May 12, 2020, the Daily Monitor, one of the English daily newspapers in Uganda, published a story, detailing how 300 students across universities had been stranded in hostels and were starving.
The resolution at UCU was host families. The administrator in charge of international students at UCU, Edgar Kabahizi, said that in conjunction with the UCU International Students Association, the stranded UCU students were assigned to the care of local families – Ugandan families, often in homes owned by UCU staff and clergy in Mukono. In normal times, Americans in the Uganda Studies Program have the option of living with a local family or living on campus.
“We were stuck. We didn’t know what to do next,” said Shalom Talandira Mukhuva, a Malawian student pursuing a Bachelor of Public Health course at UCU, and who was among the beneficiaries of the warmth of a host home.
The host family chosen by the school gave me a warm welcome and a personal room,” he said, describing the care he received, including regular checks by Kabahizi, as “a good experience.”
For Eziuzo Chizoba Oluebubechukwu, a Nigerian student, her stay with a host family was an opportunity to learn new skills.
“I learned to make snacks like pancake and chapatti,” Chizoba, now in third year, pursuing a Bachelor of International Business, said. She appreciated the Christian practices, including morning and night-time prayers, in the home and being corrected when she made mistakes. Her stay, she said, was morally and spiritually enriching.
But there were some students who opted to reside in the campus halls of residence.
“I am glad that the university allowed me to remain at the campus and provided me with food and security,” said Munyakazi Mugabe Alexis, a Congolese, final-year Bachelor of Science in Civil and Environmental Engineering student. “Personally, I do not like staying with new people, because of culture shock.”
Mugabe and a handful of international students who chose to stay in the university halls were kept under close watch, lest they strayed and contracted the coronavirus disease and experienced too much loneliness. While appreciating the care, Mugabe said at times he felt frustration with the lack of freedom and requirements to have permission from the Director of Students Affairs or the warden to go outside the campus gates.
Schools were re-opened to final-year learners in October 2020. Many semi-finalists reported to school in March 2021. Other classes are expected to follow in a phased manner, until early June, when the last batch of the lower primary school, will be expected to report to school. Uganda’s higher institutions of learning were given the greenlight to conduct online studies in July 2020.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
To support Uganda Christian University programs, students, activities and services, go to www.ugandapartners.org and click on the “donate” button, or contact UCU Partners Executive Director, Mark Bartels, at m.t.bartels@ugandapartners.org
Also, follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Entrance to Church of Uganda Hospital in Mukono – one facility that benefited from UCU equipment donations
By John Semakula
Whenever songs of the late South African artist, Lucky Dube, are played, many music lovers in Africa strike a chord with them. One of the songs, The Hand that Giveth, makes lovers of his music go wild – not just because of the beats, but also the message in the lyrics. The message in The Hand that Giveth is derived from Acts 20:35, which says it is more blessed to give than to receive.
The most recent act by Uganda Christian University (UCU) is a replica of the message in The Hand that Giveth. The institution has shared a donation of the sh520m (about $141,488) medical equipment that it received recently from the US with three hospitals in Uganda – Mukono Church of Uganda Hospital, Mukono General Hospital and Mengo Hospital in Kampala. The three beneficiaries are UCU’s training partners for its medical and dental students.
The medical supplies and equipment was donated and transported to Uganda by MedShare, a US humanitarian organisation.
UCU’s Vice Chancellor, Assoc. Prof. Aaron Mushengyezi; the Deputy Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration, Mr. David Mugawe; Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academics, Dr. John Kitayimbwa; and Dr. Edward Mukooza, the chairperson of the university’s health and safety committee, delivered the equipment to the hospitals.
The consignment included catheters, breast pump kits, blankets, abdominal binders, a Cook SP Tube Introducer Set, and PDB Kidney Shape Balloon. Also provided were applicators, antiseptic, swabs, Povidone Iodine 10%, cabinets, filing metal drawers, covers, face rest pad covers, disposables, thermometers, electronic probe, drapes, surgical and endoscopies.
At Mengo Hospital, UCU’s medical training school founded in 1897 by the Anglican Church, the consignment was handed over to the facility’s medical director, Dr. Rose Mutumba. Commending UCU for the gesture, she said. “UCU is walking the talk and we are excited about the fruits and the prospects of this partnership.”
At Mukono General Hospital, the donation was received by Dr. Robert Kasirye, who is in charge of the facility. Kasirye, too, expressed appreciation to UCU for the gesture. Part of the donation was delivery kits for expectant mothers. Statistics show that in Uganda, 15 women die every day from pregnancy or childbirth-related challenges. Many of the expectant mothers who die during child birth delay to reach hospitals after failing to get money to buy delivery kits, hence developing complications.
“We shall use whatever you have given us equitably to the save mothers,” Dr. Kasirye said, adding, “For long, we have had a good working relationship with UCU. The university’s program, Save the Mothers, built a shelter at this hospital, for expectant mothers. That is a plus for UCU and we shall continue working with you.”
At Mukono Church of Uganda Hospital, the Diocesan Bishop, James Williams Sebaggala, who is the chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the hospital, received the equipment and supplies.
The prelate said he was glad to receive the donation at a time when they were looking for a Good Samaritan to donate the necessary equipment.
Assoc. Prof. Mushengyezi noted that the donations were intended to further cement the relationship between UCU and the hospitals.
“We thought that as part of building our partnership in training students, we should support you also by providing some essential medical items that you need in your daily work, as you attend to patients,” he said. “We are here to show that we care for our friends by donating these supplies.”
Mushengyezi added that UCU’s first lot of medical and dental students who are in their third year now would soon be sent out for internships and asked the staff of the hospitals to accord them the necessary support.
To support Uganda Christian University programs, students, activities and services, go to www.ugandapartners.org and click on the “donate” button, or contact UCU Partners Executive Director, Mark Bartels, at m.t.bartels@ugandapartners.org.
Also, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram
Diana Hilda Ayikoru, UCU School of Dentistry student, shares her story about her passion to be a dentist.
By Maxy Magella Abenaitwe
We may never truly get over a loss, but we can move forward and evolve from it.
Diana Hilda Ayikoru, a third-year School of Dentisty student at Uganda Christian University (UCU), unveils a transformation story shaped by a loss in 2014. Two years after the death of her devoted, caring mother, Ayikoru realized that one must have a unique reason to live in a remarkable style that adds value to society.
“Mother’s death opened my mind to understand that there is more to life than just a tedious routine,” she said.
Much as her mom’s death remains a sad occurrence, it unwrapped a new chapter for a daughter – one filled with bigger visions, self-determined decisions, and dental literacy. One of the big vision, independent decisions she made was a career path in dental health. Between her mom and Dr. Aisha Bataringaya, a Ugandan orthodontist, Ayikoru felt pulled to learn more about dentistry.
“There is more to dental health than just a daily brushing routine and plucking out of spoilt teeth like most Africans think,” she said, adding that the lack of access to dental information and facilities contributes to African dental illiteracy. Ayikoru’s dream is to promote good oral hygiene.
“Sometimes I look at someone’s teeth and feel something could have been done to save them by just creating awareness,” she said. “One can help improve oral health since dental complications can be bound or even handled before conditions worsen.”
Ayikoru says lack of dental awareness in Africa affects both the rich and poor. Those with money for dental wellness and dental work often end up with complications because of inadequate equipment or untrained dentists.
Ayikoru is glad she is studying dentistry at UCU. In addition to a drive from the tragedy of her mother’s death, her decision to join UCU was influenced by some UCU alumni who told her that the University has great courses.
“The kind of course units we study such as Christian Ethics and World Views have helped paint a picture of how best my dental sensitization dream will work,” she said. “Some of my friends in other institutions envy me especially when it comes to the student-lecturer relationship for my course. UCU lecturers know their students individually.”
UCU started the School of Medicine with medicine and dentistry in 2018 to address the problem of smaller numbers of dentists and medical practitioners in Uganda. In 2020, UCU pulled dentistry out as its own faculty – School of Dentistry – to further accentuate the importance of dental health. The Ugandan government COVID-19 lockdown has slowed Ayikoru’s work toward becoming a dentist as she and eight of her classmates, who are the pioneers of dental surgery at UCU, were supposed to be doing year three practicals by now.
Ayikoru’s peers are supportive of her aspirations. One, Rodney Wamala, describes her as a “lively, graceful and hardworking woman.” Another, David Magara, echoes accolades, nothing that Ayikoru “is very inquisitive in class, asks excellent questions to teachers and always sits at the front.”
“I am excited to feel the touch of dental equipment and have hands-on experience with patients in the training hospital,” Ayikoru remarks. “It’s interesting to be at the hospital and gain exposure to patients even before one can officially start work. It ignites the energy and zeal to work harder.”
Three of UCU’s dental school students – working to complete credentials to meet the growing need for dentists in Uganda
By John Semakula and Jimmy Siyasa
“Some tortures are physical and some are mental, but the one that is both is dental.” That phrase is attributed to the late Frederic Nash, an American poet.
Aziz Wamula, a third-year student of Mass Communication at the Uganda Christian University, relates intimately with Nash’s saying. The mental and physical torture emanating as he woke up one morning could not allow the 23-year-old any more time at home.
He went to the Uganda Christian University’s (UCU) Allan Galpin Clinic in Mukono for medical assistance. Wamula needed an urgent root canal treatment to ward off the constant pain. When he arrived at the medical facility, he hoped the pain he was undergoing would soon be dealt with. But he was wrong. The clinic did not offer the service he needed. Therefore, he was referred to Mengo Hospital, 32km (19.8 miles) away. There his woes continued as Wamula did not have the money that the hospital needed to treat him.
He, therefore, resorted to a dental facility about 5km (3 miles) from the university, in Seeta.
“At the clinic, I neared the luck of having the root canal treatment at sh200,000 (about $54),” he recollected. The process began but before it was completed, the clinic encountered a power blackout with no backup generator. Wamula says the pain he underwent when the power was off forced him to ask the dentist to switch from his desired root canal process to extracting the tooth. For this switch, he got a refund of sh50,000 (about $13.5) and left with one less tooth.
A deeper pocket eased the pain undergone by a fourth-year Law student at UCU, who preferred anonymity. She needed special dental treatment after her teeth got out of position. To correct the misalignment, the student needed to buy a brace and a retainer. When she inquired, she was told it would cost sh10m (about $2,700). The brace was to cost sh4m and retainer sh6m. The lawyer-to-be paid for the service, which was conducted at one of the dental facilities in Kampala. She now wears a metallic arc belting her ivory white teeth.
The amount that Okirorspent on realigning her teeth could pay her tuition fees for a full year at the university. Despite the fact that the service left her wallet dry, she is proud that her teeth are slowly getting back to their right and original alignment.
Currently, the UCU’s Allan Galpin Clinic only offers dental extraction services within the sh70,000 ($19.02) that students pay for medical services every semester at the university.
UCU Student Esther Tusiime, telling her dental story
The few students who have medical insurance are able to avoid the single option of losing a tooth and receive professional dental services. Esther Tusiime, a third-year student of journalism at UCU, is one of them.When Tusiime, like Wamula, developed a sudden excruciating pain in her gums, her mother’s health insurance bailed her out.
“The pain was so much that I had spent several sleepless nights before finally seeking medical treatment,” she recalled. Due to the COVID-19 lockdown that included school closings, Tusiime was home with her parents; they took her for specialised treatment at Mawano Dental Clinic in Kampala.
“The dentist discovered that I had a tooth that was hidden in the gum and growing in the wrong direction, hence causing the pain,” she said of the diagnosis that included an X-ray. For the technical analysis and stitching of the gum, Tusiime paid sh600,000 (about $163) off her insurance.
A majority of the Ugandan population, including UCU community members, do not have health insurance. This means that they may suffer with untreated dental diseases and permanent defects from bad breath to missing teeth and mouth pain. Some students narrate their experiences of having to sit next to a classmate who suffers from halitosis (bad breath).
The lack of funds to resolve dental issues is compounded with the low dentist-to-patient ratio in the country. According to the Uganda Dental Association, there is one dentist for every 142,000 Ugandans.
Dr. James Magara, the Dean of the Faculty of the UCU School of Dentistry, said running a dental facility in Uganda is expensive because most of the equipment used and much of the sealants and fluoride are imported.
Dr. Zachariah Muddu, from the Allan Galpin Clinic, said UCU finds it fit to uproot the teeth because the standard dentist charge for the procedure, from within or without, is sh50,000 (about $13.6) – more than students can afford. Any student with the need for anything beyond extraction is directed to any of UCU’s referral hospitals.
“When it comes to root canal-filling of the teeth, bills are picked up by the patient. Anything that involves elective measures calls for personal expenditure,” Muddu explained.
During 2020, the university created the UCU School of Dentistry and is currently equipping its training laboratories. It is hoped that this move could give birth to a dental clinic that can offer cheaper treatment services to members of the UCU community.
Early in 2020, the East African Medical and Dental Practitioners Council communicated to Uganda Christian University (UCU) a number of requirements for continued accreditation. Creation of a School of Dentistry independent from the UCU School of Medicine was one such condition that has now been met. The University appointed Dr. James Magara, a dental practitioner since 1988, as its Dean. Some of the content for the interview with the new dean was compiled in December 2020.
Dr. James Magara, Dean of Uganda Christian University’s newly designated School of Dentistry
By John Semakula
What is your professional background? I was in the pioneer class of dentistry at Makerere University and served as a teacher there in addition to being a dentist.
What is the staff and student status of the UCU School of Dentistry? Our plan initially was to incubate the School of Dentistry in the School of Medicine so we admitted students for the two courses at the same time. This worked because there are some common subjects for the two groups of students in the first two and a half years. They are basic and clinical subjects, which they (medical/surgical and dental students) do together. In the third year, the dental students branch out to do purely dental subjects. The students’ numbers are still small because the license we have only allows us to admit 10 students every year. In the first lot, there are nine students and in the second, they are seven. This coming year, as a separate School of Dentistry, there should be a full lot of 10. We also have a number of staff but because the pure dental subjects have not yet started, we are in the process of deploying a full-scale dental staff.
How is the School of Dentistry recruiting and retaining qualified dental staff? For one, we are working with our partners abroad but the regulatory authority requires that you must have people in-country. We are considering running a post-graduate program so that we generate our own specialists. Once this happens, we don’t have to keep sending staff abroad for training as we can address the problem here.
Dr. James Magara, UCU dean, School of Dentistry
What is learning like in the COVID pandemic lockdown? The first class, which is in third year, should be starting fulltime engagement with the pure dental subjects, but there has been a bit of destruction this year (2020) because of the COVID-19 lockdown and the eventual closure of the University by the government to mitigate the spread of the virus. We are resolving that, and we should be engaging our students in third year. They should begin their clinicals now.
What does it mean to have an Independent School of Dentistry? This is really good news for us. This is what we wanted from the beginning but the University wanted to delay the process as Makerere did in the beginning as its School of Dentistry was originally incubated within the School of Medicine. When we had the inspectors from the East African Medical Council visit us early this year, they insisted that the two schools should be separated and the University has successfully done this. I think this is the best situation that can happen to the future of dentistry in this country. UCU has started much better, and I think that this will give room for growth and Ugandans should look forward to a very robust dentistry program.
When do you plan to increase the students’ enrollment from the cap of 10? I cannot make a statement on that, but the training of dentists is very expensive. It’s important that we have our feet firmly on the ground before we think of increasing enrollment.
What are some of the challenges the School faces? There are certain challenges with any pioneering group. Dentistry is capital intensive in terms of asset investments for the first 5-10 years. At the beginning, you have got to make sure that there is equipment and materials – basically getting the systems going. The other challenge is that we do not have enough trained dentists in this country so you find that when it comes to experts or specialists needed to train students, the country doesn’t have enough of them.
Why should a student study dentistry at UCU? First, the University has a strong commitment to ensure that students have very good exposure to modern dentistry. Second, the UCU Faculty of Dentistry’s teaching hospital has a very long history of teaching medical practitioners in Uganda. The University has a partnership with Mengo Hospital, which has a dental unit that has been running for over 40 years now; this unit has trained dentists with internships throughout Uganda. It is recognized as the premium place to go for hands-on dental studies.
What is the ratio of qualified dentists to patients in Uganda? I don’t have the figure off the top of my head but the number of dentists in Uganda is still very small. The qualified dentists in the country could be about 400 trained over time. We are not actually keeping up the number of dentists being trained compared to the population growth rate. (According to an August 2019 article in the Daily Monitor, quoting the Uganda Dental Association, there is one dentist for every 142,000 Ugandans. This compares to 60 dentists per 100,000 people in the United States.)
How has COVID-19 impacted on the training of dentists and practice in Uganda? Because of the Coronavirus pandemic, we were locked down and the restrictions that were put in place by government to make sure that the spread of COVID-19 is curtailed have made sure that our university was closed. This has been a very big challenge in terms of teaching but also dentistry is a very practical course, which you can’t teach and practice without meeting people and touching them. This has raised very serious infection controls and questions that have not yet been fully answered.
What are the overall challenges of training dentists in Uganda? One is the cost of equipment. Dentistry is a very practical course that you cannot train just theoretically. You need to have materials, and all these are imported. The second major challenge is training personnel. Thankfully, there is a lot that can happen in our digital age in terms of getting resources from elsewhere.
How expensive is it to run a dental school in Uganda? I don’t have exact figures but just think about the fact that apart from the tuition that students pay, you have got to buy materials and equipment that are all imported. Some of these can stay for a while while others are consumables and don’t stay for so long. Those things add to the cost of training a dentist. I also can say that the amount of fees that students pay for these courses are supplemented if you consider what it costs to train a dentist or a doctor.
How is the job market for graduates of Bachelor of Dental Medicine in Uganda? We are in a situation now where our population is moving more away from eating the natural foods. There is a lot more consumption of refined foods and sugars, which are creating a crisis of dental health in the country. But it is not as widely known as other life-threatening conditions. I can therefore predict that the demand for dentists in Uganda is just going to continue growing beside the fact that the population is also growing. It outstrips the rate at which dental professions are being trained. So, the demand is there that anyone who sets up a good quality practice will be able to do well and anyone working in government hospitals will have a lot of work.
The East African Medical and Dental Practitioners Council early in 2020 placed certain requirements on the UCU School of Medicine. What are some of the things the University did to comply with the Council’s conditions? One of the things was to separate the School of Dentistry from the School of Medicine, and that has happened. The council was also very keen to see that the School of Dentistry is well equipped, which also is being addressed, plus staffing. UCU has actually done what was being required of it, and that is why our accreditation was continued.
The Faculty is receiving dental equipment donated from the USA to boost training of students. Who is donating the equipment? At the moment, we have firm commitment from an organization called Midmark in the United States donating dental chairs, and we are very grateful for them. These are very good quality chairs, which are on their way already. We do have UCU Partners in the United States; that organization is coordinating this arrangement. They also helped us get some chairs from China. This is critical and very foundational for any kind of dental school so we are very grateful. They have a very big heart to help UCU or parts of the world that are not well resourced as where they are.
What is the financial value of the equipment? I have not seen the figures yet but about the dental chairs, we are talking about tens of thousands of dollars. Especially those from the United States. It was a very generous donation.
How is the equipment going to help in training the dental students? It’s foundational. Dentists have to be trained with equipment. I travel to parts of the country and someone tells me that we have a dental problem. I can see it and I know what to do but without the tools, I cannot do anything so having the equipment is very critical. Without them you can’t train a dentist.
Do you have another word to the people who gave UCU the equipment? We have a lot of heartfelt gratitude that the donors were able to see this need and also saw it fit to respond to it. When you train a doctor, you have actually invested in a lot of lives because that doctor if well trained will go on to work for a few more decades. They are going to save so many lives. So, this is what I see here–the people who have given so generously have sowed into the future for our children who are going to train. They will be treating our growing population and not only here. Such students end up serving different parts of the world and that is how those who have contributed will be rewarded. May the Lord richly bless them.
What are some of the future plans for the UCU School of Dentistry? We need to transition the School to one that is offering post-graduate programs and that is critical for research but also to building our teaching capacity and a pool of dental specialists in the country. Secondarily, in the long run we would like to see that we have a more purpose-built facility. We are adapting a facility that has been so graciously provided by Mengo Hospital and as we move into the future, we need to have one that is purpose-built for teaching of dental students. Lastly, we look forward to introducing other general courses that can still provide community service.
After several months of waiting, modern training equipment arrived in mid-February for use by the newly designated Uganda Christian University School of Dentistry. On February 19, 2021, Uganda Partners published a story on the big picture related to the equipment. This story, which was written in part in December 2020, narrows on the contributions specific to the USA-based Midmark and MedShare entities. Tomorrow’s story will highlight the new UCU dean for the dentistry school. The week will conclude with stories about students.
Some of the Uganda Christian University students benefiting from the Midmark equipment donation, outside a training building near Mengo Hospital, Kampala
By John Semakula
Uganda Christian University (UCU) has received a consignment of dental equipment worth $141,488 (over sh520m) donated by Midmark, a USA-based manufacturer of medical and dental tools.
The equipment was delivered to the UCU School of Dentistry in Mengo, Kampala, courtesy of MedShare, a nonprofit organization that helps send medical supplies and equipment to hospitals around the world. The equipment includes: five Ultracomfort dental chairs; LED Dental Light; Separator Tank Assembly, a Powervac P7 Base; Powerair Oil-less Compressor and a Midmark M3 Steam Sterilizer, 230V.
The Dean of the UCU School of Dentistry, Dr. James Magara, described the donation as generous, critical and foundational in setting up a dental training lab. UCU started an independent School of Dentistry in the middle of 2020 and is in the process of equipping its training laboratories.
“We have a lot of heartfelt gratitude that the donors were able to see this need and also saw it fit to respond to it,” Dr. Magara said. “They have a very big heart to help UCU or parts of the world that are not well resourced as where they are. When you train a doctor, you have actually invested in a lot of lives because that doctor if well trained will go on to work for a few more decades.”
Joana Bideri, a third-year student of dentistry, also praised the donation. “The dental chairs in particular will help us get used to using them before graduating,” she said.
Mark Bartels, the Executive Director of the UCU Partners said Doug Fountain, the former UCU Deputy Vice Chancellor in charge of Development and External Relations, connected his organization (UCU Partners) to Midmark. Doug is the current Executive Director for Christian Connections in International Health, an organization that promotes health and Christian perspectives. The organization shares information and provides a forum for dialogue, networking, advocacy and fellowship to a spectrum of Christian organizations and individuals working in international health.
Doug expressed excitement that Midmark donated dental equipment to UCU for training of a new cadre of dentists.
“This is one of the most overlooked areas of health professional training as good dentistry affects health, self-image and nutrition for men, women and children,” he said. “I came to know them (Midmark) through another association several years ago and had the chance to share about UCU several times with one of their executives. This donation is a great example of partnership done well – timely assessment of need and information sharing, coordination with local partners, understanding of what the donors will need. Now let’s see this make a difference in the lives of the people of Uganda.”
According to Mark, in 2019 when former UCU Vice Chancellor, Dr. John Senyonyi, was on a working visit to the United States, he made a connection with MedShare. The organization (MedShare) helps in shipping donated medical and dental supplies to hospitals and medical schools around the world. In addition to coordinating the shipping MedShare donated the medical supplies and equipment that accompanied the dental equipment on the 40 foot container.
“After receiving the items from Midmark, MedShare added more medical supplies and equipment and sent the container to Uganda,” Mark said, adding that UCU Partners contributors provided $25,000 (over sh92m) for the container. “This project relied on the generosity of Midmark, MedShare and hundreds of individuals who donated to UCU Partners.”
“UCU Partners is grateful to be in partnership with UCU and the School of Medicine and School of Dentistry and to provide some of the equipment needed to train the next generation of doctors and dentists in Uganda,” Mark noted. “We believe that as UCU trains medical and dental students in a Christ-centered context, they will be prepared to serve and make a difference to thousands who very much need quality medical and dental care.”
With the statistics from the Uganda Dental Association indicating one dentist for every 142,000 Ugandans, Midmark’sdonations comes as a “God sent gift” to bridge the doctor to patient gap in the country, Mark said.
Mitch Eiting, the global philanthropic and corporate giving manager for Midmark also said the organization was very excited to work with Uganda Christian University Partners to donate dental equipment to the UCU School of Dentistry.
“We believe this equipment will help support the dental school by allowing students to continue focusing on the technical skills needed to treat patients successfully. Also, we are pleased that the additional equipment will allow the school to increase student registration, leading to more dental professionals much in demand in Uganda,” Eiting said.
The acting Dean of Department, Dr. Gerald Tumusime, tries out some equipment on a UCU student.
Story by John Semakula; Photos by Samuel Tatambuka
Uganda Christian University (UCU) has acquired state-of-the-art dental and medical equipment worth sh1.46bn ($397,855) to boost the training of students at its dentistry and medical schools in Mengo.
On February 18, University top management received equipment that included 5 dental suites, LED dental lights, a separator tank assembly, a powervac P7 base, powerair oil-less compressors and a Midmark M3 Steam Sterilizer, 230V.
Speaking at the function on the UCU main campus in Mukono, the University’s Vice Chancellor Associate Prof. Aaron Mushengyezi, revealed that all of the dental equipment was donated to the University by Midmark, a US-based manufacturer of medical and dental tools while the medical equipment was donated by MedShare, another US based organization that procures medical donations and helps ship them to hospitals and medical schools around the world.
The donation from Midmark was worth over sh520m ($141,722).
The Vice chancellor Prof. Aaron Mushengyezi, together with the University staff, observe how equipment works.
“We are now getting to where UCU should be,” said Assoc. Prof. Mushengyezi. “We want UCU to set the pace in the training of a wholesome individual. From today bring your children to study dentistry at UCU because they will get the best training.”
Mushengyezi added that with the newly acquired equipment, UCU is now compliant with the set standards of the East African Community (EAC) Partner States National Medical and Dental Practitioner’s Council to run a full-fledged dentistry school.
In 2020, the Council identified a number of infrastructure gaps at the School of Dentistry, including the need for certain equipment.
UCU made the necessary improvements and continued to rapidly acquire more dental and medical equipment.
Inspecting equipment are the Dean of School of Dentistry, Dr. James Magara; the Vice Chancellor Prof. Aaron Mushengyezi: Deputy Vice Chancellor Finance and Administration Mr. David Mugawe: and the University Chaplain Rev. Paul Wasswa.
Dr. John Kitayimbwa, the University’s Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, noted that UCU is working very hard to ensure that it sends to the job market well trained Christian medical and dental practitioners to transform the two professions.
Kitayimbwa added that with the new dental suites, the ratio of students to the training equipment at the UCU Dentistry School is almost 1:1, which is an assurance of quality education to the leaners.
He commended Midmark for donating the equipment and Uganda Partners in the US for ensuring that the donated equipment was delivered to the University. The donated equipment from the US was delivered free of charge to UCU due to the generosity of many individuals who donated to Uganda Partners to make the shipment possible, and the work of MedShare in packing and shipping the container. “This would not have been possible without the generosity of both Midmark and MedShare. MedShare’s expertise in shipping medical supplies overseas was an essential part of this process.”
The Dean of the UCU School of Dentistry, Dr. James Magara, described the donation from Midmark as generous, critical and foundational in setting up a dental training lab.
“It’s very expensive to train a doctor,” he said. “If the purchase of the equipment had been left to us, we would not have been able to achieve it.”
Mushengyezi disclosed that while all of the dental equipment donated by Midmark would go to the School of Dentistry, some of the medical equipment donated by MedShare will be given to hospitals that partner with the School of Medicine for clinical training, include Mengo Hospital, Mukono Church of Uganda Hospital and Mukono Government of Uganda Hospital. He said the hospitals are key partners of UCU in the training of the medical and dentistry students.
+++
To support Uganda Christian University programs, students, activities and services, go to www.ugandapartners.org and click on the “donate” button, or contact UCU Partners Executive Director, Mark Bartels, at m.t.bartels@ugandapartners.org.
UCU Alum Christine Nimwesiga poses with a group of nurses after training them on maternal health practices.
By Alex Taremwa
(NOTE: Story and photos were generated before Uganda’s COVID-19 lockdown.)
Buried deep in the western region of Ibanda District is Uganda Christian University (UCU) Nursing Graduate Christine Nimwesiga. A trained nurse and midwife, she deputizes the District Health Officer and has been at it for seven years since she was transferred from Kisoro District.
Ibanda is a district on the verge of a municipality status, but its maternal and infant mortality leaves a lot to be desired.
“When I joined, the district registered about 18 maternal deaths,” Nimwesiga said. “but we have halved that figure to about eight and even those are referrals from outside districts.”
She is not just an administrative person. She is a self-motivated nurse and midwife who gets her hands dirty in the field. In her own words, nothing inspires her like the delivering a newborn, especially being there for that first cry.
UCU Nursing Graduate Christine Nimwesiga reviews district Maternal and Neonatal Health records with a nurse at Ruhoko Health Center in Ibanda district.
Among Nimwesiga’s accomplishments in Ibanda is that 77% of pregnant mothers deliver in hospitals. She achieves this using Village Health Teams (VHTs) and Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) that are trained to encourage hospital-administered deliveries.
However, needs remain. She admits that although 86% of pregnant women turn up for the first antenatal check-ups in hospitals, only 46% return for the fourth visit. As a result, cases of severe anaemia and haemorrhages manifest often during birth, some causing maternal deaths.
Documenting the need in 2018, Nimwesiga presented a research paper at the annual Nurses Celebrations. It was titled; “Assessment of adherence to iron and folic supplementation among pregnant women attending ANC.” Her results revealed that pregnant women do not take supplement iron and folic recommended during pregnancy; hence, the anaemia.
As a result, she has developed plans to train nurses on identification of potential complicated births, structured stakeholder meetings in the health sector to adopt interventions that are making Ibanda some kind of a model district.
“I have formed committees at each of the 22 high volume delivery health centres where we monitor, record, follow-up and report on each prenatal, neonatal or postnatal deaths. The results are what inform our interventions,” she said.
Nimwesiga revived the technical support supervision committees that train and mentor health workers on safe delivery, nutrition and baby resuscitation for children born when they can’t breathe, and these committees trickle down to Sub-County and Parish levels.
“It was an intentional career development plan,” she said. “Every year, I ensure that we send one nursing officer, two enrolled nurses and two enrolled midwives to school. Now I have a pool of professional staff to pick from. I have even put it in the budget that at least three nurses attend the annual nurses’ celebrations.”
Personal goals Nimwesiga’s kind of nursing is an evidence-based one. She would rather spend her day researching, publishing and studying on solutions to her people’s problems but she has no financial support for her research. She can neither publish nor go to the field.
“Most funders want to channel their support through universities leaving most of us with valuable field knowledge and access to respondents out. In places like here, we are in a pool of data but a local government will always remain local. We have no funding, no Internet, nothing,” she lamented.
Nimwesiga, age 38, wants to have her PhD by the time she is 45. She will then join academia, grants writing and research and perhaps move close to her family that currently lives over 300kms (186 miles) away in Kisoro.
UCU relationship Nimwesiga holds UCU in a special place in her heart. Not only did she get a promotion after her MA in Nursing, she also has been involved in the Department’s activities and ensures that UCU Nursing graduates get internship and employment places. In the future, she hopes UCU can implement plans to conduct speciality continuous development courses for working graduates.
“Our staffing is at 67% – both medical and support staff,” she said. “Compared with other places, we seem to better off but when you compare with the population of 270,500, we are limping. So I created two positions under me for capacity building and most of these are UCU graduates.”
Nimwesiga has won several scholarships including a 10-day leadership course in South Africa that she began in March. The course was taught in South Africa and only four participants were from Africa, and she is the only Ugandan.
She is grateful to UCU for the opportunities that it gave her and the foundation to take her career by a firm grip. She advises nursing students at UCU to be self-motivated, work passionately and focus on changing the livelihoods of the people in their communities.
“Your actions will sell you. I love my profession. I am a born nurse and it gives me great pleasure to serve my people. It has taken me places,” she concluded.
+++
To support Uganda Christian University programs, students, activities and services, go to www.ugandapartners.org and click on the “donate” button, or contact UCU Partners Executive Director, Mark Bartels, at m.t.bartels@ugandapartners.org.
Margaret Ekel, founder and director of Florence Nightingale School of Nursing and Mid-wifery in Apac, northern Uganda
By Douglas Olum
While growing up in a northern Uganda village in the 1960s, Margaret Ekel admired nursing assistants who occasionally visited to interact with the people, including her parents, Tezira and Jeremiah Okot. As a young girl, she dreamed of becoming one of these smartly dressed, well-spoken medical people.
In 1968, after learning letter writing in her primary six classes, Ekel, then age 11, used that skill to begin applying to the Lira Mid-wifery Training School, seeking admission to the nursing program. Ekel overstated her age as 14. Unfortunately, because she lacked the minimum academic qualification for admission, she received a denial response with the word “regret.” As Ekel narrated this childhood memory in 2019, she could not help but smile.
“I didn’t understand the word ‘regret’,” she said, laughing.
To Ekel, that rejection was mere postponement of her admission. Her target was to get the ordinary level certificate, which she obtained in 1973. With that in hand, she applied for the nursing course while one of her brothers submitted documents on her behalf for the Laboratory Assistant program. She was admitted for both, but dropped the Laboratory Assistant offer.
After enrolling in the Masaka Nursing and Mid-wifery Training School in central Uganda, Ekel encountered challenges with the practical side of learning, including the administration of injections to patients. Giving a shot was terrifying as was dealing with death. When patients died, she hid inside a small room until the body was wrapped and taken away.
“Whenever I would lose a patient, I would cry with the relatives instead of simply empathizing with them as the profession requires,” she said. “I kept wondering why my fellow nurses would not drop a tear.”
With the help of tutors and colleagues, Ekel overcame these professional obstacles. With a midwifery certificate, she pursued a diploma in Nursing from Mulago School of Nursing and Mid-wifery before taking on a tutorship training course.
Realizing the gaps in the Uganda’s health sector, Ekel, who had worked in Government Hospitals, including at Nebbi Hospital in the West Nile region, knew that she could not do that single handedly. She opted for an early retirement from Government service as a nurse to pursue further studies so that she could influence the change she desires through imparting the knowledge and skills for a younger generation to close those gaps. So she decided to establish a school of nursing to train more Ugandans at certificate level in Apac District, Northern Uganda shortly after graduating from UCU.
Margaret Ekel at graduation from UCU in March 2014. She received her Bachelor of Nursing Science degree before enrolling for a Masters in the same field.
Ekel received a Bachelor of Nursing Science degree from the Uganda Christian University (UCU) in March 2014.
“My training in UCU opened my eyes to see the profession from a different perspective,” she said. “I was taken through the details of essentials like nursing care and nursing problems – which deals with how nurses can connect emotionally with their patients, listen to them and discover problems that could delay their healing processes.”
A mother of five boys and a girl, Ekel, who is currently a student in the Master of Nursing Science program at UCU, is founder and director of Florence Nightingale School of Nursing and Mid-wifery in Apac, northern Uganda. The school runs alongside a sister hospital, Nightingale Hospital, Apac.
Through her school and hospital, Ekel hopes to restore patients’ hopes in the nursing profession by restoring what she considers the lost image of the profession. Administratively, Ekel says her time at UCU has made her a leader with a difference because through the various fellowships and prayer sessions, she learned that it was important to involve God in everything.
“Seeing the Vice Chancellor go to eat with students at the DH (Dining Hall) taught me key leadership skills like paying attention to the people you lead, listening to them and being humble all the time,” Ekel said.
In August 2018, Ekel suddenly collapsed while she was interacting with visitors from Gulu Regional Blood Bank who had checked into her school. She was rushed to Nightingale Hospital in Apac, where she was resuscitated before being referred to Nakasero Hospital for CT Scan and Naguru Hospital for a surgical procedure. Investigations revealed that she had cerebral thrombosis, a blood clot condition in the brain, which meant the vein that supplies oxygen to her brain was blocked and she needed to stay away from stressful and physically hectic duties. The condition is normally permanent in patients, which meant she had to drop out of her masters program which she painfully did.
But to her surprise, about a year later, a doctor told Ekel that her condition had normalized. She remembers asking the doctor what could have healed her, to which the doctor reportedly responded: “Somehow God has planted a new vein to supply your brain.”
In April 2020, she was considering a return to complete her course with mostly individual research remaining.
Because of that miraculous healing, Ekel believes that: “When you are with Christ, it is different than when you are with the world.”
+++
To support Uganda Christian University programs, students, activities and services, go to www.ugandapartners.org and click on the “donate” button, or contact UCU Partners Executive Director, Mark Bartels, at m.t.bartels@ugandapartners.org.
Elizabeth Nagudi Situma, left, UCU Head of Nursing, and students meet with Magdalene Nayonjo, a community resident
By Caleb Bamwesiga
Magdalene Nayonjo is one of 653 residents of Nakkoba Village, located in rural Dundu Parish, Kyampisi Sub County – about a 45-minute mostly bumpy bus ride from the Uganda Christian University (UCU) main campus. At age 89, she’s the one I remember most during a February 2020 trip with UCU Nursing students and their head of department, Elizabeth Nagudi Situma.
Openly in her Luganda language and while plucking tiny stems from the bitter miniature apple fruit called katunkuma, she says she is barren. She admits that over the years she has been shunned for her inability to have children. Now approaching 90 years, however, she is an accepted part of her community. With her husband who has had other wives with children, she is content.
Segayi Dessan Salongo, coordinator for UCU nursing student visit in Nakkoba
Segayi Dessan Salongo, a village council member and the student nurse contact for the day, agrees. Magdalene is a respected and valued member of this poverty-stricken village. He supports the student visits not just for their ability to apply learning but also for what they teach residents about health care. In this village, safe drinking water is not abundant. There is no health care facility or pharmacy. Knowledge of the importance of cleanliness is sparse.
Elizabeth Nagudi Situma, who sits next to me enroute to and from the village and remains with me as I meet residents, explains that these visits are part of the year four learning for students working toward a UCU Bachelors of Nursing Science degree within the School of Medicine and give opportunity to students get exposed to health care at the grass roots level.
While healthy for an elderly person, Magdalene struggles more than younger residents who spend hours in farming or brick laying and ride motorcycles called bodabodas into towns with stores and clinics.
In order to address rural and urban health care disparities, Elizabeth says that the university joins forces with the Mukono district health service.
“We signed a memorandum of understanding with the Mukono district health service,” she said. “We carry out community health nursing outreach, educating people about the health preventative measure. This program is just one aspect of the university’s efforts to improve health care in rural communities around the university.”
The UCU Head of Nursing notes that the community nursing program’s strategic initiative is emphasizing preventive measures that not only have direct impact on rural areas, but also cultivate learning opportunities for students.
“With preventive measures at finger tips, this places people in the community at a privileged position of not suffering from communicable diseases, and other diseases resulting from poor sanitation are minimized,” she said. “Students are able to address critical issues encountered by health care professionals every day, from the prevention of disease to the delivery of care.”
She also noted that public awareness of symptoms of conditions and diseases (such as strokes) can help improve the speed of receiving medical help and increase the chances of a better recovery.
“On some occasions we encounter people who are sick with diabetes or blood pressure and live without knowing they are sick,” the head of nursing said. “This delays the chances of one seeking diagnosis from medical professionals. The untreated condition can advance and get worse. In these cases, the benefit of treating the disease promptly can greatly exceed the potential harm from unnecessary treatment.”
Residents are encouraged to go to government hospitals where they can access free medical services. Mulago hospital, for example, has free diabetic clinics.
John Bosco Ntambara, one nursing student, noted long-held cultural beliefs and practices keep people from seeking health care facilities. Often, they prefer traditional healers because they are better known and live nearby.
“That’s why they go for medical treatment late,” John said. “They first believe that they will get better. Some traditional healers will tell them that the payment arrangements will be made when they heal.”
However, the university head of nursing notes that one aspect of quality nurse service delivery is understanding culture and also getting to know what traditional healers offer to clients for easy clarification to community members.
“We don’t just talk,” she said. “We listen.”
+++
To support Uganda Christian University programs, students, activities and services, go to www.ugandapartners.org and click on the “donate” button, or contact UCU Partners Executive Director, Mark Bartels, at m.t.bartels@ugandapartners.org.
UCU Nursing student Nankya Brenda Diana visits a village family
By Patty Huston-Holm
Four plastic cups of passion juice. Several crumbling, miniature queen cakes. Bananas. Two melting strawberry and vanilla ice cream cones – a relatively new treat on the Uganda Christian University (UCU) Mukono campus. Laughter.
For 15 of the university’s year-four nursing students, that’s how the ride in a burgundy and white bus in central Uganda’s scorching heat started.
Loosely called a “community visit,” this weekly trek supplements learning that takes place in classrooms and laboratories on the campus. The trips into remote villages enable students to see the practical side of health care in their final months before graduation. In years one, two and three, the book, lecture and Internet knowledge have been complemented with real-world experiences in hospitals and health centers.
Previous real-world experiences have included conversations with traditional healers and professionals dealing with mental illness and observing circumcision and critical care of accident and HIV/AIDS victims.
On this sunny, February 2020 pre-COVID-lockdown day, the student nurses and Elizabeth Nagudi Situma, UCU head of nursing in the School of Medicine, travel on bumpy, dirt-rutted roads 45 minutes away from the main campus. They serve and learn in village of Nakoba – an area too remote to be found on a map. With guidance by Situma, students listen, observe, record and advise two residences each at various locations within an approximate one-mile radius.
“I think it was more than worms,” student Nankya Brenda Diana said about one child’s protruding abdominal area. “When you push on the stomach, it feels like an organ or something out of place.”
Normally, she said, a child’s extended belly means intestinal worms. They contract them from uncooked food, walking barefooted among cattle feces or eating dirty mangoes. In her kit, she has mebendazole, a drug that she can provide to eliminate worms. The better resolution is prevention through proper sanitary practices. This time, however, Brenda is not so sure that the stomachs of a two-year-old and her four-year-old brother are filled with worms. She puts her suspicions in her report.
The mother, Helen, has six children, including two sets of twins. Giving birth to more than one child at a time is a much-esteemed blessing in Ugandan culture. In addition to discussion of hygiene related to chickens that roam freely in the family’s cooking and sleeping areas, a rudely constructed rain water pipe and lack of dedicated space for the household’s bathroom habits, Brenda is ready today to discuss family planning. Steven, the husband and father, is there to get advice, too.
Brenda, wearing a backpack and holding a clipboard, talks to the family in their Luganda mother tongue. Helen sits on a single stool, nursing the baby, as Steven and their other children, barefooted in torn and dirty clothes, lean against trees near their humble home. Across an unpaved, dirt road are more than 20 gravesites, signified by a few stones but mostly by rounded mounds of dirt.
Roughly a half mile away, John Damasen Ntwari has his second weekly meeting with Niyonsaba, a mother of seven who, along with her husband, escaped here from Burundi ethnic disputes in 2015. They are Tutsi who fear death still today from the richer, more powerful Hutu. In broken English, she explains that they want to go back someday. But the time is not yet right.
John Damasen Ntwari, president of the UCU Nursing Class of 2020, visits with a family in a remote village near Mukono.
“I am very happy to see John,” she says. She shares that her family is better off than most with two children enrolled in school. While her young daughter smiles broadly, Niyonsaba says her problems with allergies and a weak heart seem less than John’s last visit and the daughter has healed nicely from a vaginal repair.
John, who is president of the nursing class, scribbles notes as walking to his second site. There, 15-year-old Nabaweesi Zakiah emerges. As when John previously visited, she’s alone. Again, in clear English, she says her mother is away “just one day to visit a friend.” When she returns with school fees, Zakiah can return to school.
Situma emerges and deepens the questioning about what the girl eats, if she is alone, if she is afraid at night, and if anyone hurts her. She praises the surroundings that include a vanilla plant and trees plentiful with bananas and jackfruit. Zakiah carries a large knife to a tree, cuts down some matooke and carries it back to her small living quarters. A dog, kitten and chicken with babies scatter.
“It’s hard to know,” John said. “I’ve asked that her mom be here today, but she still isn’t. Maybe next time.”
For most of the UCU student nurses, including Brenda and John, the desire to work in health care stems from a young age when encountering a void in medical attention for a family member. In addition to this motivation, there is a government promise of a paid job for at least one year after graduation. They are placed around the country with a 750,000 UGX ($200) a month salary for 12 months.
Seat backs filled with ready-to-eat avocados. Fingers dipped into large, freshly opened shells of sweet jackfruit. Some laughter, but mostly vocalized thoughts about the conditions, causes and remedies for health maladies. That’s how a February six-hour day – but not professional careers – concluded.
“Ultimately, I want to work in cancer care,” John said. “But I’m prepared for anything.”
+++
To support Uganda Christian University programs, students, activities and services, go to www.ugandapartners.org and click on the “donate” button, or contact UCU Partners Executive Director, Mark Bartels, at m.t.bartels@ugandapartners.org.
UCU Nursing students Babirye Tamara Peace and Kakooza Abdul Wahabu practice a birth simulation with “Baby Nicole.”
Uganda Christian University (UCU) is launching a new program – a master’s course in midwifery and women’s health – under its School of Medicine. At the request of UCU Partners, Ugandan writer Constantine Odongo had a chat with Elizabeth Namukombe Ekong, a lecturer in the medical school’s nursing department. What follows is some of this conversation related to the new program.
What programs are under the department of nursing? We have undergraduate and master’s programs in the department. In the Bachelor of Nursing Science, which began in 2006, we have two entry points – nurses with diploma, but want to get bachelors; and the direct entry right from S6 (high school graduation). The completion program takes three years for nurses already experienced, while the other entry takes four years. The master’s in nursing started in 2008. We are now introducing the master’s in midwifery and women’s health.
Students Kiribata Dorothy, Bagenda Isaac, and Mbulaka Remmy Allan with a practice plastic baby as part of their training in the UCU nursing program.
When does the new course start? In 2017, the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) approved our curriculum, but we have not had the personnel the NCHE insisted on. They insisted on staff with master’s degrees in midwifery, yet most of us have masters in nursing. We have been looking around for personnel. The challenge we have had is that in Uganda, only one university has been offering this course, so not many people have the skill set that NCHE required. The other challenge is many people who opt to pursue master’s degree studies are already established somewhere else. So, it is not for us to uproot them from their already set systems. There are some people who have expressed interest, so the university actually put up advertisements in January, calling for people to apply for the position of lecturer in midwifery. As this year (2020) is the Year of the Nurse and Midwife (designated by the World Health Assembly under the World Health Organization in honor of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale), it is appropriate that UCU starts the master’s in midwifery.
Which people are you working with to ensure that the program kicks off? We are trying to put up a team as NCHE recommended. The other thing is we have partners who are professors with PhDs in midwifery and are willing to come and teach and also offer online interactions, since the program design is a modular one. We have two professors from the United States – one from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and another from Bethel University in Minnesota. They are ready to start the teaching in May, if we have set our intake to start and we have finally got the required number of students, the personnel and the clearance from NCHE. We are making arrangements for the professors to come and make the physical preparations. We expect the face-to-face teaching to happen three times a year.
Elizabeth Namukombe Ekong, nursing lecturer
Who helped you design the curriculum for the midwifery master’s course? We developed it from a prototype curriculum that was designed from a program by the East, Central and South African College of Nursing (ECSACON). The ECSACON prototype is the same that many universities in the region use to develop their curriculum. We undertook a study to review the status of midwifery in the region and established that there was a need to provide a platform for the existing midwifery cadres to upgrade their skills at master’s level. When developing the curriculum, some of the areas the study looked at is the number of midwives in the country, the mortality rates, etc. From the ECSACON prototype curriculum, we developed ours for the master’s course, with assistance from colleagues in the UK. When we were satisfied that it was ready, we passed it through the approval process up to the university Senate and the NCHE. With the approval in 2017, it meant that the moment we get the relevant personnel with a master’s degree in midwifery, we would be ready to start.
What achievements has the nursing department registered? We have developed skilled competent and dependable nurses with the passion and faith to render services across the continent, but also offer leadership. Our graduates have been absorbed in different institutions, both state and non-state and the feedback we get about their conduct is encouraging. We have had collaborations with facilities where we send our students for placement, like Uganda-China Friendship Hospital Naguru, the hospitals of Nsambya, Mulago, Butabika, Jinja referral and many others.
Some of our students are Assistant District Health Officers, and some are in charge of medical facilities and in other leadership positions in hospitals. Others are working at the Ministry of Health.
What is in the curriculum for the midwifery master’s program that you are soon launching? The curriculum is designed with two tracks: Education and Practice as the program prepares educators and practitioners We have areas of midwifery education, which involves teaching and learning, curriculum development, measurement and evaluation; we also have an area on research and statistics. We have another area of midwifery leadership courses and management, so our students are able to graduate with better management and leadership skills.
There are foundation science courses like pathophysiology, pharmacology, and advanced health assessment in maternal and infant care. Other profession-based foundation courses offer an opportunity for the students to learn theories in nursing/midwifery, together with advanced courses in normal and abnormal midwifery. With other partner universities both here in Uganda and beyond, we share courses to do with cultural diversity, trends and issues in midwifery, neonatal and women’s health. Students also go for an international module (internship) to strengthen their teaching approaches and clinical experiences.
The students also take selected courses in advanced clinical practice from areas of their desired specialty in maternal and child health. Health care systems is another course taught to enable students understand the major elements, dynamics, determinants and organizational themes in public health, policy issues and health financing.
How have you taken care of the developments in information and communications technology as far as your course is concerned? We intend not to leave our graduates behind as far as information and communications technology is concerned. We have lined up a course in informatics, which involves the application of technology in what they learn. We expect to take the students through online healthcare packages, how they can remotely follow up on patients and network with the online medical ecosystem in order to know a patient’s medical history and other things.
Many women, especially those in rural areas, still opt for traditional birth attendants (TBAs) to deliver them, citing harassment from midwives. What is your department doing to reverse this phenomenon? We always emphasize professional ethics and Christian values in our students and that is why we have faith-based and foundation courses to see how virtues of the respect for one’s work is instilled and how the students ought to relate with their clients. In the midwifery curriculum, for instance, we have integrated Christian worldview to help students relate and handle our clients from a Christian perspective.
Why should we separate nursing from midwifery? Would it be better to equip the students with both skills, so the medical field gets multi-skilled professionals? At UCU, the Bachelor of Nursing Science teaches concepts of both nursing and midwifery, just like the undergraduate course, which teaches medicine and surgery. The specialization occurs only at post-graduate level. That said, there are universities that offer bachelor’s degrees in midwifery. It’s also important to note the difference between the work of a midwife and a nurse. A midwife’s work involves care for women and families whereas a nurse is involved with the general health of everyone. Midwives focus on women, children, pregnant women, reproductive health issues and educating the community about the same.
+++
To support this Uganda Christian University program and others as well as students, activities and services, go to www.ugandapartners.org and click on the “donate” button, or contact UCU Partners Executive Director, Mark Bartels, at mtbartels@gmail.com.
The Just family – Jason and Ladavia; Jada, 14; twins Jamie and Jael, who recently turned 9.
(The Fulbright Program is designed to improve intercultural relations, diplomacy and competence between people in the United States and other countries. This is the first of three stories about American Fulbright Scholars serving with Uganda Christian University.)
By Patty Huston-Holm
“The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.” Proverbs 16:9
Uprooting from a developed to developing country shouldn’t be an overnight decision. For Dr. Ladavia Just of North Charleston, South Carolina, it wasn’t.
Sitting barefooted in her Kampala, Uganda, home while her three children were in their new school and juggling phone messages about her husband’s American-to-Uganda air travel snafus, she reflected on her path across the ocean to serve with Uganda Christian University (UCU). The three-year discernment journey started in February 2016 with UCU’s Vice Chancellor, the Rev. Canon Dr. John. Senyonyi, visiting South Carolina. This connection was followed by Ladavia’s two exploratory trips to Uganda before a Fulbright Scholarship award to do nine months of work related to Dr. Ladavia’s expertise in pharmacy.
Ladavia Just
Dr. Just is teaching pharmacology courses for second-year students at the UCU School of Medicine that is located within Kampala’s Mengo Hospital. She also has been tasked with helping to lay the foundation for a new pharmacy program at UCU’s School of Medicine. In addition, she will conduct research assessing the feasibility of increasing access to heath care using telemedicine in refugee settlements.
“When I look at the needs of Ugandans, the list is overwhelming,” she said. “I wondered how I could possibly have made a ripple of an impact. Now as I consider the fact that I have been practicing as a clinical pharmacist for the past decade, coupled with my background in postsecondary education and health administration, I realize there is a ripple that has my name on it.”
That ripple became a wave with “first God nudging me very subtly” before the giant push with her husband, Jason, agreeing to hold down the fort with his work at the Medical University of South Carolina while his wife and three daughters took up a year’s residency in Uganda. The couple agreed that having their twins, Jamie and Jael, age 9, and Jada, 14, engaged in the international experience, including school in Uganda, would be a plus.
Here’s some of what Dr. Ladavia Just knows as it relates to the need she might fill in Uganda:
In the United States, the career path to become a pharmacist involves at least two years of undergraduate study, four years of graduate-level study, and two exams. There are 144 accredited programs with the more than 300,000 pharmacy graduates (2016) making more than $100,000 a year. These American pharmacists give advice on wellness, educate on drug benefits and side affects and administer certain vaccinations. Throughout the country, citizens can access a licensed pharmacist about every two miles (3.2 kilometers).
In Uganda, which is about the size of the state of Oregon, you can become a pharmacist following a four-year program, followed by a one-year internship, in four locations – one in the north, one in the west and two centrally located. While institutions offer lower levels (certificate, diploma) of programs related to pharmacy work in Uganda, the best comparable solution to supplementing health care in this country is the licensed pharmacist, making 4 million shillings ($1,085) a month. Except for the injection role, they operate much the same as those in the Western world. But there are are not enough of them.
As quoted in May 2019 by Uganda’s Daily Monitor newspaper, 20 percent of the just over 1,000 Ugandan licensed pharmacists are working or getting further education out of the country. And 90 percent of the rest are working in private pharmacies that the most economically vulnerable, particularly the rural poor that make up 80 percent of Uganda’s population, cannot access.
According to Samuel Opio, the Pharmaceutical Society of Uganda secretary, Uganda needs five times more than the 150 pharmacists who graduate each year.
“If you look at Uganda’s 42 million population as a while, the number of ‘in country’ pharmacist ratio is roughly 1 per 60,000 people,” Dr. Ladavia said. “The Ministry of Health has indicated a goal of 1 per 20,000 over the next decade.”
The pharmaceutical issue in third-world countries goes beyond access data. It’s also about substandard drugs. In June of 2019, the Ugandan National Drug Authority estimated that 10% of all medications provided in the country are counterfeit. Ineffective ingredients (sugar, powder, chalk, etc.) in these fake drugs can be deadly. In July of 2019, the Ugandan government was exploring a relationship with MediConnect block chain technology to alleviate the problem.
While considering assistance to start a UCU School of Medicine pharmaceutical school at some point, providing this information to the university’s medical students will assist in not only added knowledge but also with reinforcing ethical and Christian practices in Ugandan health care, according to Dr. Ladavia.
Dr. Edward Kanyesigye, Dean of the UCU Faculty of Health Sciences (including the medical school) cites Dr. Ladavia’s practical and teaching experience as an asset to UCU as well as her highly relational personality. In Uganda’s community-based culture, the American pharmacist had the added advantage of being able to build sustainable relationships.
An added uniqueness with Dr. Ladavia is her African-American heritage. Most Westerners working in Uganda are Caucasian. This ethnic unfamiliarity results in many locals mistaking her for Ugandan until she starts to speak. She recalled one restaurant experience in Kampala with white-skinned Americans.
“My friends, Amy and Jayne, were given menus, and I was not with the assumption that being Ugandan, I would get my food from the local buffet, “ Dr. Ladavia recalled, smiling. “When hearing my American accent, the wait staff quickly apologized and brought me a menu. But the rest of the lunch was spent with curious stares of other (Ugandan) diners.”
Heritage, Dr. Ladavia believes, will be another asset to her teaching in East Africa. While teaching basic principles of pharmacology, the nervous system, chemotherapy and other drug-related topics, students and staff will expand their cultural, racial and ethnic awareness by learning who she is and what she believes. If the subject of slavery comes up, she welcomes the conversation.
“I want them to understand and learn from me, ” Dr. Ladavia remarked from her home in Kampala, shortly after moving in. ““Already, I have learned so much from them.”
She has learned how to go to the market, to enroll her children into an international school with children from 35 countries, to find a place where her children can see a movie, to drive a car on rugged streets and around bodabodas (motorcycles) that don’t follow traffic rules, and to buy and keep four rabbits for her girls to have as pets.
“Ugandans are wonderful, friendly people,” she said. “I know that God is using me for His Glory and placing His children from here in my path.”
+++
To support Uganda Christian University’s School of Medicine and other programs, go to www.ugandapartners.org and click on the “donate” button, or contact UCU Partners Executive Director, Mark Bartels, at mtbartels@gmail.com.
Monday Edson (right) prepares to carry out a test on the UCU Vice Chancellor, Rev. Canon Dr. John Senyonyi, inside the new university ambulance while the Guild President, Bruce MugishaAmanya (in suit), looks on, shortly after the new university ambulance was brought.
By Olum Douglas
When Monday Edson joined Uganda Christian University (UCU) for his undergraduate studies in 2010, he did not see himself on the Mukono campus beyond getting his degree. Edson then had a diploma in nursing and worked at a specialized children’s neurosurgery center called Cure Children’s Hospital of Uganda. At Cure, he was the In-Charge for the Intensive Care Unit and Wards.
But when he graduated in 2013 and returned to his work place, he felt something was missing.
“I enjoyed the Christian components of life in UCU, especially the mission weeks, prayers and worship,” Edson said. “I could not wait for a chance to return to UCU because as you may know, our work requires a lot of spiritual enrichment. And UCU provides that working environment.”
Monday Edson carries out a check on a student at the Allan Galpin Health Centre. His education is supported by UCU Partners.
His love for the university was not only based on the spirituality but also the dream to pursue further studies and share his knowledge and skills with aspiring nurses, a thing he believed the university would grant him.
Indeed, his dream is coming true, thanks in part, to Uganda Christian University Partners financial assistance. Edson, now a final-year student of the Master of Nursing Science at UCU,says after exhausting his savings to sponsor himself for the first and second modules of the program, he was at the brink of dropping out until Partners stepped in. The sponsorship has saved him from worries and given him room to focus on his work and studies.
“Many times people think when they gain skills they should run away in order to find greener pastures, forgetting that there are even greener pastures where they are,” he said. “I have found mine in UCU and I want to work, study, teach and mentor future nurses from here.”
Since his return to the university in 2013 as a staff, Edson was appointed Head of Nurses at the university’s Allan Galpin Health Centre. His key roles include supervision of nurses. But it is common to find him in practice, attending to students and staff in need of health care. He also enjoys mentoring student nurses at the university as time permits. After his Master in Nursing Science, Edson desires to pursue a PhD in the same field to enable him venture into teaching.
“I feel that I have the calling to teach, but that does not mean I will quit practicing,” he said.“My aspiration is to see the theories we learn transmitted into practice. And that is what motivates me to mentor the students.”
Outside his prescribed tasks, Edson also chairs the university’s Inspection Committee, a subcommittee of the Health and Safety Committee. His committee inspects and ensures good hygiene and healthy practices at the university’s kitchen, dinning hall, canteens and halls of residence.
To his work mates, Edson is a humble, down-to-earth, team player who is very active in every activity that involves the university’s health center.
Kenneth Kiggundu, a Medical Records Clerk at the health center, says, “Edson is a very knowledgeable person in nursing procedures, yet very humble.” Rachael Nakamya Lule, the health center administrator also says, “Edson is very committed and easy to work with.”
Since his appointment as the head of nurses in 2013, Edson has pushed for several changes in health services at the facility. Such alterations include expanding service hours from 12 to 24 hours a day. The work shifts increased from two to three eight-hour shifts that include a night shift.
While he says human resource remains a great challenge at the facility as nurses must carry out nursing as well as dispensing duties that many times cause delays, Edson is happy that a lot has changed within the health center, and many more students are appreciating the services.
To Edson, his job is a fulfillment of Christ’s mission, and there is no greater satisfaction in it than a “thank you” note from a client.
+++
To support UCU students, programs and facilities, go to www.ugandapartners.org and click on the “donate” button, or contact UCU Partners Executive Director, Mark Bartels, at m.t.bartels@ugandapartners.org.
UCU School of Medicine (SoM) students Joana Bideri, Ronnie Mwesigwa and Peter Kabuye talk with Dr. Arabat Kasangaki, dental surgeon and lecturer at the UCU School of Medicine at the Mengo Hospital, Kampala, Uganda.
By Patty Huston-Holm
Bad breath could indicate a digestive problem. A burning tongue might be sign of anaemia. Bleeding gums point to possible vitamin deficiencies. A yellow gum lining may mean liver or kidney issues.
Dr. Arabat Kasangaki with the Uganda Christian University School of Medicine dentistry program
Sitting in his small office within a building of the Mengo Hospital/Uganda Christian University (UCU) School of Medicine, Dr. Arabat Kasangaki patiently ticked off the “swelling, sores, discoloration” aspects of understanding the bigger picture of a dentist’s job.
“The mouth is a mirror to the body,” he said. “Mostly, you hear the word ‘cavity,’ which is considered one of the biggest problems worldwide, but the best dentists know and provide much more.”
Just moments before and in the sunshine within the Kampala, Uganda, medical complex, the 59-year-old dentist and teacher extolled the virtues of chemistry related to dentistry to one of his students.
“If you don’t understand much of the basic sciences, you won’t be a good dentist and risk being a mechanic who sees the tooth as a patient instead of the whole human being,” Kasangaki asserted in response to the student’s push back on that course. “You must learn and understand the sciences and their applications.”
At the same time, dentists need to be dentists.In Uganda, many dentists, particularly in rural areas, step out of their role to do general medical practitioner tasks, but those medical practices are malpractices. The job of a dentist is “confined to the mouth, face and neck” and to alert patients and their doctors to symptoms of problems in other parts of the body based on what is observed in their region of operation, he said.
The status of health care, including dentistry, is bleak in developing countries like Uganda. Sub-Saharan Africa, which includes Uganda, has 12% of the world’s population but only 3.5% of the world’s healthcare workforce. According to Kasangaki, there is less than one dentist for every 140,000 of Uganda’s some 40 million people.
“In the United States, there is a high saturation of dentists and the population there has a high awareness of the value of oral health,” he said. “Here in Uganda, people aren’t aware of the importance of good dental practices.When they do come, they are often at the emergency stage and are afraid.”
The dentistry deficiencies of his country – something he sees firsthand – drive Kasangaki to not only teach well the next generation of dentists but to develop a dentistry building to house clinics and labs as part of a strategic plan for a UCU SoM Dental School. In August, he submitted an approximately $3 million dental school infrastructural plan to UCU’s planning department as well as to the American architect who has designed many of the UCU buildings.
“We need simulators for the pre-clinical training of students and dental lab equipment plus other technology in a student-dedicated dental clinic,” he said. “We need to be able to attract, retain and train the best.”
Makerere University, which has had a dentistry program for nearly three decades and where Kasangaki, who doubles as an oral and maxillofacial surgeon and pedodontist, has taught, is the biggest competitor.The program there is good, but the Christian aspect of UCU makes it better with emphasis on “the compassionate worker.”
Despite his busy schedule of teaching, practicing and developing a quality dental program at UCU, Dr. Kasangaki is keenly aware that his work and his mission are directed by God and that his accomplishments are to His glory. A name badge on his desk is from a Monday men’s group Bible study that he seldom misses.
At one point in life, he wanted to be a pastor. At another point, he thought he would be an engineer or a medical doctor. Despite his humble upbringing as one of 10 children in his family living the Kyegegwa western Uganda region, he had international education and practical experience opportunities. He has studied, taught and practiced in the Soviet Union, China and South Africa, acquiring English, Swahili, Russian and Chinese languages along the way.He came to realize that a life for Christ takes many forms.
Among his most memorable service in dentistry was a man who arrived with a deformed face – “sort of like he had two heads” – and who “had been written off.”Dr. Kasangaki was able to do surgery to fix the jaw and repair the deformity. The dentist attributes God for his abilities and the teachings of Jesus for his compassion to help.
In August of 2019, the UCU School of Medicine accepted its second round of new students. The total admitted is 120 with approximately 15% being dentistry students. The number seems small, but Dr. Kasangaki sees it as a place to start in a quality way.
“A Christian university is the best place for that growth to happen,” he said.
+++
To support the Uganda Christian University School of Medicine or other programs, go to www.ugandapartners.org and click on the “donate” button, or contact UCU Partners Executive Director, Mark Bartels, at m.t.bartels@ugandapartners.org.
Acting UCU Deputy Vice Chancellor for Development and External Relations, Mr. David Mugawe (UCU Partners photo)
By Douglas Olum
In the words of the Rev. Dr. Stephen Noll, “Uganda Christian University (UCU) is the greatest investment of the Anglican Church in Sub-Saharan Africa.”
As the expressions of the first and former UCU Vice Chancellor resonate, the Church has not only prided in the university, but also has continuously pledged and rendered necessary supports as needs arise. One example of this support is manifested through the recent move in which the Provincial Church of Uganda leased for five years a building and land for the expansion of the UCU School of Medicine (SoM) that was opened in 2018.
The acting UCU Deputy Vice Chancellor for Development and External Relations, Mr. David Mugawe, said the given land located on Namirembe Hill, near the SoM current site, will be used to build additional classrooms to accommodate between 80 to 100 students. The SoM student body will increase by roughly 60 a year to 300 by 2023.
He also said the building given by the Church will be repartitioned to serve as a laboratory for studying microbiology as well as provide additional classroom space.
This development comes at a time when the university is preparing to admit the second lot of 60 students from more than 400 SoM applicants for the academic year starting August 2019. Mr. Frank Obonyo, a UCU Communications Officer, said the current school facility cannot accommodate a larger number of students than what the school has at the moment.
Mr. Mugawe says the university shall not renew the tenancy after the five years because “We hope that by that time we shall have already built our permanent home that shall accommodate students for all the five years and with more laboratories, all in one place.”
The permanent home is to be constructed at the current site. An American consultant and architect, Mr. Michael Reid, was in Uganda between late March and early April to study the site in order to generate the artistic impression for the home. The university has received the artwork and is expected to kick-start a major fundraising drive and contract awarding for the infrastructural development soon.
“We are excited that the School of Medicine is growing,” Mr. Mugawe said. “We want to move away from the practice of responding to the same need every year. And we believe our five-year strategic plan will get us there.”
However, he called for partnership from various individuals and institutions to help the university meet its goal.
“Operating a sensitive project like the School of Medicine is a journey you cannot walk alone. That is why we are calling for partners to support us, whether with their expertise, financially or technically,” Mr. Mugawe added.
When the school opened in August last year, a total of 60 pioneer students were admitted to pursue the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery, and the Bachelor of Dental Surgery.With the School now training doctors, both the government of Uganda and the university administration are hopeful that UCUSoM graduates will be part of the positive transformation of the country’s health service delivery.
During the school launch in September last year, the Uganda Minister of Health, Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng, said that while there are many institutions training doctors and nurses in the country, professional ethics has been a huge challenge among the health practitioners, with many of them abandoning patients, stealing drugs from government hospitals or unnecessarily soliciting for money from patients.
The Minister, who also is a pediatrician, expressed hope that the doctors from UCU, just like graduates of other professions who have exhibited uniqueness in the country, would come up to fill the gap by serving patients with not only medical expertise but also diligent and Christian hearts.
When Conrad Ochola suffered depression in 2017, he heard a voice in his head.
He walked before his elder sister with whom he lived and threw off some of his clothes. The abnormal action shocked not only the sister but also the rest of the family. They were not aware that Ochola, then a new graduate of Uganda Christian University (UCU), had battled his mental state for some time. He hadn’t slept for months, with strange voices constantly screaming in his head. One of the voices persuaded him to throw himself in a pit latrine. He survived because the hole leading into the pit was too small to swallow him.
Through those months, Ochola, suffering in part due to the loss of his mother, lived in fear of death, saw things in twos and dodged meals because every time he ate, he would feel pain as though he was eating his own body parts. He never told anybody.
Butabika National Referral Hospital, in Kampala, Uganda, is the country’s only mental health facility.
It was when the 24-year-old stripped naked that the family came to realize that he indeed needed mental health care. They rushed him to Butabika National Referral Mental Hospital, where he was diagnosed with depression. After months of medication in this only such facility in Uganda, Ochola recovered.
Ochola, a marketing executive at a Uganda investment company called Xeno, is an example of how proper mental health assistance can make a positive difference.
Daniel Ojok, a high school graduate, wasn’t so fortunate. He crashed himself onto a speeding truck in December 2018 along the Gulu-Juba highway, days after dropping suicide hints that nobody got. The late Ojok is like millions of Ugandans who need mental healthcare but do not get it.
One mass example is in northern Uganda where thousands still suffer the traumatic consequences of the two-decade Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) insurgency, hundreds have committed suicide and more still continue to do.
A recent World Health Organisation (WHO) report indicates that at least 1.7 million Ugandans (about 4.6% of the total population) suffer from depressive disorders and another 3% suffer from anxiety. Depressive disorder is a condition characterized by sadness, loss of interest or pleasure, feelings of guilt or low self-worth, disturbed sleep or appetite, feelings of tiredness and poor concentration. Two years ago, the WHO ranked Uganda among the top six African countries heavily affected by mental health issues.
The Uganda Protestant Medical Bureau (UPMB), a charitable and technical national umbrella organization, reports that 98% of people with mental health issues in the country do not have access to care.
The problem is attributed to lack of community-based psychiatric care facilities, poverty that incapacitates many families from taking their mentally ill members for medication and the misconception that mentally ill people are connected to witchcraft, the latter often subjecting victims to rituals that, unfortunately,cause further harm to their mental states.
Butabika Hospital currently has up to 900 patients – double its capacity. A Butabika nurse who spoke on condition of anonymity said most times the extra patients are admitted because they have no where else to go.
Often, those afflicted with mental health issues roam the streets. Men and women dressed in rags, with dirty, twisted hair and many times carrying sacks of rubbish, stroll along streets of urban places across the country or seated in isolated places, mumbling junks of sentences.
Training institutions such as the Uganda Christian University aim to lessen the Butabika overload and the number of victims on the streets. The department of Nursing, for instance, is equipping student nurses with psychiatric nursing skills. Throughout their final semester of studies, students pursuing the Bachelor of Nursing Science, spend at least a day every week serving and learning at the Butabika Mental Hospital.
Mrs. Jemimah Mary Mutabazi, the head of the Department of Nursing at UCU, said as a department, they have been teaching mental health since the approval of their curriculum in 2006.
“It is part of curriculum because we want to equip our nurses with skills that enable them provide holistic care to their clients. Nurses work with people of different kinds including mentally ill patients and we want them to be able to handle all cases professionally,” Mutabazi said.
Brenda, wearing a backpack and holding a clipboard, talks to the family in their Luganda mother tongue. Helen sits on a single stool, nursing the baby, as Steven and their other children, barefooted in torn and dirty clothes, lean against trees near their humble home. Across an unpaved, dirt road are more than 20 gravesites, signified by a few stones but mostly by rounded mounds of dirt.
You must be logged in to post a comment.