Team Uganda: Clinic Day 1

We kicked off our morning with a devotion from our spiritual leader, Eli. Our word of the day was incarnation and he spoke of how God came in the flesh to serve others, leading with an attitude of equality and compassion. We were reminded that the services we provide while here will never amount to the lessons and growth that the people of Uganda will provide to us. While some of us had the courage to wake up at 5:30AM for a workout, the rest of us started the day at breakfast (6:30AM). At 7:30AM, we hit the road and were off to our first clinic site, Kabalye.

We were greeted with this powerful image upon arrival— hundreds in line, some who slept overnight in order to receive services. They greeted us with waves and smiles— bringing joy to our mornings.
The clinic was divided between two buildings and further into areas of service: Registration, Triage, Providers, Glasses, Therapy and Pharmacy.
Here’s a glimpse of what the day consisted of!
-Registration got the ball rolling checking everyone in
-242 patients were served with only 5 providers
-Over 20% of the patients received eye glasses
-4 kids with Cerebral Palsy received custom chairs made from poster board, buckets, Velcro, cardboard, pool noodles, towels, foam, and A LOT of duct tape by the Occupational Therapy team

-A stroke survivor was given a wheelchair and the Occupational Therapy team got him up and walking for the first team in years!
-The Pharmacy team filled over 700 prescriptions!
-The Physical Therapy team began their Wheelchair Clinic at the OneWorld Health hospital (Masindi-Kitara Medical Center), fitting 4 patients with custom wheelchairs. Check out tomorrow’s blog for details.
-An OT student, Jacquelyn Ross, received a grant through MUSC’s Center of Global Health to conduct research relating to developmental delays in infants. She spent the day at the local hospital and here’s what she had to say: “I was able to spend the day at MKMC in the maternity ward to implement a health education project providing information about typical development of infants. I provided the resources to the midwives for them to include in their routine prenatal and postnatal care for pregnant women and mothers to help promote earlier detection of developmental delay!”

-Our triage team was nearly speechless when we asked them about their day, saying it was “Amazing. Eye opening.”.
We left the site around 6:15PM. When we got back, a delicious dinner was served and some of our team shared their life stories.
Clinic day one is complete and our hearts are so full. Thank you for supporting us along this incredible journey! We couldn’t provide this care without you.

+ Emma McCarthy, Occupational Therapy Student, South Carolina
+ Caroline Walsh, Occupational Therapy Student, South Carolina