Maternal and Child Health Facility taking shape

It is so exciting to be here and see our new Maternal and Child Health facility rising up  from the ground.

This new building is 3 times larger than our existing primary health care facility and it is truly amazing to see this dream become a reality!
The new building is made of two halves connected by a breezeway .
One half provides a birthing facility for women and babies with two labour wards and a dedicated theatre for Caesarian section. This section also houses some admission areas for women and a newborn baby ward, as well as areas for women to attend pregnancy checks and receive health education.
The second half of the structure has several admission wards along with teaching facilities and an administration zone.

This second stage of Yotkom Medical Centre  is bring constructed through generous donations from Gateway Baptist Church in Australia and many  other donors who continue to help us achieve our vision to improve access and excellence in Primary Health Care in Northern Uganda.

Can we ask you to consider donating to our work.
We need continuing donor support, particularly as we seek to employ more senior medical staff to supervise the bigger facility.  We know our wages bill will increase.
We need to strive for excellent medical standards and this can only be achieved by recruiting more senior Ugandan medical professionals full time.
One of our key goals at Yotkom is self reliance , and we are pleased to report that our Yotkom primary health care facility , currently employing 32 staff, is right now  largely operating as a self reliant clinic due to the strategy of local income generation we have in place .
The bigger facility will put some financial strain on us initially but as it grows we believe we will also come close to self reliance.   In the meantime ,during this growth phase, we will be so appreciative of the giving  we receive from Australia to help us lift off!
thank you for  supporting us !

Pastoral care visit

Pastor Jason Elsmore from Gateway Baptist Church in Brisbane Australia  spent some days at Yotkom . He was accompanied by a small team , including Nick Paton, who was able to make an audiovisual record of the work being undertaken in our project.

This will be used to report back most especially to the Gateway community who support us in so many ways .
The fulfilment of the vision we have to respond to injustice, poverty and sickness in Northern Uganda  would not be possible without  the constant presence of this  very special outwardly -looking church community in Australia.
While he was here, Jason gave us some inspirational messages and encouraged us to have love at the centre of our relationships within the team and as a distinctive way in which we respond to  our patients.

Young blood

Dr Jonathan Tey was embraced by our medical team of nurses and doctors and provided inspiration to them by modelling good medical practice in the daily activities at Yotkom and through formal teaching at Continuing Medical Education forums

He is mentoring a young man, Denis who is undertaking medical studies at nearby Gulu University . Denis has been bonded to work at Yotkom at the completion of his studies as part of our human resource planning for the future.

Chelsea Edwards has background in medical research and was able to introduce a new pathology test kit to our laboratory for Leischmaniasis. 

She also developed close relationships with our administrators, theatre nurse and medical record department.

We really benefit from these visits and our partnership with Australia

Building up Dental Services at Yotkom

In April, Dr John Yared has been spending time with two of our key Ugandan dental workers, Godfrey and Annette.
John brings a wealth of experience from working in Australia and also in Africa .
He has been able to work alongside our dental team, sharing knowledge and skills and helping establish good clinical guidelines for treating common dental problems.
He also kindly donated some dental equipment from Australia including a mobile dental unit which will assist us to conduct rural outreaches.
We hope this very valuable mentoring relationship will continue into the future.