Groundbreaking

We have had an exciting day, seeing a bulldozer at work on the land ear marked for a purpose built medical clinic in Kitgum and bringing together several days of business development and IT work. Andrew P and Andrew W had their last day working together. Its been a really productive time and I believe we have made an awesome  "A" team . We have seen so many answered prayers and some wonderful strengthening of relationships here and the Yotkom project has moved ahead considerably and built stronger foundations.
  Andrew P heads down to Kampala tomorrow on the bus, followed by Andrew W on Monday.
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Kitgum continues

We are working away busily here. Andrew P is immersed in IT challenges, helping the Yotkom drug shop and Bregma clinic with computer hardware problems and also assisting with developing business reports , monitoring and development. He is quite at home in Kitgum now, heading off on his own to buy chapati for lunch today and exploring local IT shops at ease!
 Andrew W met with the Yotkom directors, Dr Vincent , Dr Charles and Dr Peter tonight. It was very encouraging with a sense of unity and purpose as we discussed  our vision , encouraging developments and challenges we face. Some of the day was spent setting up an emergency room at Bregma, arranging  the ECG, oxygen concentrator, suction equipment and O2 sats monitors which came from Australia.
The colposcope and Slit lamp and steriliser will take some time to put into service.
 All the boxes in the storeroom were also sorted out into types of medical disposables so they can be easily be accessed  when needed. A young woman presented with severe asthma, received  adrenaline and AW was able to do some clinical teaching using ventolin via spacer with a remarkably quick response to that. our new oxygen concentrator was also quickly put into service !
Tomorrow we hope a bulldozer will do some ground breaking work at the Yotkom land site in preparation for a future purpose built clinic, God willing...and funds allowing !
thanks for support and prayers !

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With Gods help we can "advance against a troop"and "scale a wall" (Psalm 18:28)

We have had a very busy but productive few days here. Everything seems to have suddenly fallen into place ...and all at once!
The container has been unpacked and contents distributed to Lois Ford Tender Trust,  Bregma Primary Health Clinic and St Josephs Hospital, Kitgum.
The Solar System has been partly completed and will be up and running at Bregma Clinic by Thursday.
We are very happy with the company doing the installation.
Its been hot and dry here and its easy to get dehydrated..and covered in dust by the end of the day ( it feels so good to throw a cold tub of water over yourself at the end of the day!).
Graham and Sue are driving back down to Kampala tomorrow with a sense of accomplishment !
The the whole container planning and processing has been a difficult one spanning over 18 months... but it has brought a lot of joy to the community here to receive some good gifts from Australia.
Meanwhile the two Andrews remain for some more days ! ... still more to do
Thankyou for supporting us, encouraging us and keeping us in your prayers!
Please click on the link below and check out some of our pics

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Lois' Lovely Kids

Andrew Purcell, Sue Carter and Andrew Wright are holding the fort here for Lois while she and Graham do the hard work in Kampala.  We are amazed at the children and the ministry of Lois Ford Tender Trust.

Oh, and major breakthrough !

we have been so encouraged today by the news that the container is on the road to Kitgum and will arrive tomorrow ready to be unpacked.  Lois and Graham will also drive back to be with us tomorrow. Should be an exciting beginning to the week.

Skype also enabled Lucas Levy back in Australia today working with an onsite mechanic, to assist with repair and maintenance of the diesel generator at Bregma.

Container exasperation !

Here we are in hot dusty and dry Kitgum, staying with Lois Ford at her project for children at risk, called Tender Trust. Lois and her African team cares for over 100 children, many of whom have disabilities. we admire her !

The container from Australia, laden with much needed  equipment for Lois and medical technology for local clinics has been a major concern to us.
It has spent 3 weeks in Kampala , stuck in a mire of bureaucracy, forms, procedures and payments. Graham Carter has been making many phone calls and seeking help from all quarters to have it released.
Finally yesterday , he had to make the long 9 hour trip back down to Kampala to personally meet officials and try to get the container delivered here before he leaves for Australia. He is spending his birthday waiting patiently in an office right now as I write this .We are praying for a breakthrough!
Andrew Purcell has been spending some time working with Justin and Peter in the Yotkom Drug Shop to improve the business and work on ways of increasing sales and profits which can be channeled back into the project..

Andrew P  is also having a wondeful time playing games with the children at Tender Trust and immersing himself in the African experience.
Andrew Wright has been spending time with each of the team members of Yotkom and getting valuable feedback, identifying strengths, weaknesses and challenges !
Yesterday we went with Andrew Kilama , the engineer , to visit the land on which we hope to build a future clinic. We are considering doing some preliminary levelling of the land and construction of a retaining wall, as well as a small structure to be used for storage and to accommodate John Achola and his family who live on the site, They have been "minding" the site for the past 9 years.

Today, a representative from the solar installation company travelled up from kampala to give on site advice in preparation for a proposed building commencement on Monday or Tuesday next week. It will take about 2 days . We have located a good area on the roof with lots of sun exposure and a secure site for the batteries to be stored.  It is clear that the solar will make a considerable difference to the medical clinic functioning. One of the nurses shared with me today her continuing frustration at trying to assess and treat  sick or injured patients with a little torch  in the night when power is out. Imagine trying to put an IV canula in a child or do a wound dressing under these conditions!
Thankyou Gateway Baptist church for the funds to construct solar.

Team 2013

On January 13th 2013, Andrew Purcell will be accompanying  Andrew Wright to  Kitgum Uganda.

Andrew is married with two children. He has a background in Business and I.T.

It will be his first visit to Africa and an opportunity to experience  the Kitgum community first hand, understand more about what YOTKOM is doing in Uganda  and also to explore ways that he may be able to contribute, especially with his previous business and team building skills and experience.
Yotkom is seeking to teach and model good business practices within the project and also to explore ways that small local, income producing activities can be more successful and sustainable.
Our small Yotkom Drug Shop is an example of this and we are aiming to focus on making this stronger while we are  in Kitgum.
Part of our long term vision is to see the medical work of the project being partly funded by local business enterprise and for our Yotkom team members to be known by their integrity and Christian values manifested in the work place .

Other goals for this visit include unloading the container of donated medical equipment which we trust will arrive during our stay. We will be joining Graham and Sue Carter from Brisbane to undertake this.

Graham has been instrumental in gathering valuable medical supplies together and working with the Mater Hospital to get a container of goods to Uganda.

Loading XRay Dark room for packing onto Container

Another exciting and encouraging development has been the recent gift by Gateway Baptist Church to Yotkom . These funds will pay for installation of a SOLAR SYSTEM  to the rural medical clinic we are partnering with in Kitgum. Over recent weeks ,we have done a lot of preparation and groundwork towards this and trust it will be successfully installed during our stay. It will make a significant difference to the daily operation of the clinic as power outages are common and often prolonged . It is vital for Pathology equipment and vaccine fridges to have a continuing power supply .

not sure if our installers will have all this fancy safety equipment--so pray for safety !!

Please pray for us as we work together with the African team to achieve all these goals... and more !
We will be in UGANDA from JANUARY 14th to 30th
 check this site for updates and photos of our activities and progress!