Health And Wellbeing

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Health care is key to breaking the cycle of poverty in Lwengo.

At the moment, if someone gets ill in Lwengo, it affects the whole family.
If either parent gets ill so can’t work, the whole family loses their income. Often children are required to work in place of their parents, which stops them from going to school. This will then starve the next generation of opportunities education provides. They’ll lose out in the same way as their parents. Access to affordable healthcare is a vital part of breaking this cycle.

Health care in Lwengo today

  • Six medical doctors serve a population of 270,000 people. In Hackney, 150+ doctors serve a similar number.
  • There are no beds for patients to stay overnight in the region.
  • Lwengo has no proper operational maternity delivery suite, and there are over 5 maternal deaths for every 1,000 births in the district.
  • There’s less than the equivalent of one dentist for the whole district, private or government.
  • The government health budget for Lwengo is £800,000. Just one GP practice in Hackney that serves 7000 people has a budget of £1,000,000.

The new health centre will include:

  • Separate wards for men, women and children
  • A maternity/delivery wing
  • A laboratory – for medical tests that currently aren’t possible, so can enable much better diagnosis, and consequently treatment
  • A dental suite
  • Community Health Education – community village nurses, will visit homes and pro-actively identify health needs.

A sustainable and community-based approach

Part of what sets this project apart from similar ones is that the people pulling the strings have grown up and lived in Lwengo for most of their lives. They have created a model that will allow the centre to generate income, by:

  • Charging patients that can afford to pay
  • Working with those in the community who cannot pay to give them loans, a membership scheme and bursaries.

This is only possible because of their vast local knowledge of the community.

Help us help Lwengo: donate, fundraise and spread the word

There are three main ways you can help us make this health centre happen:

  1. Donate
    Any donations to this page would be much appreciated as we have a big task ahead of us so need all the help we can get, even if it is a small amount.
  2. Spread the word
    We are an organisation built on relationships, and we think that the best way for us to move forward is building more. The more people who know about what we’re doing, the more impact we can make.
  3. Fundraise
    You or your group could undertake a challenge to raise some funds towards this health centre. You can be as creative as you wish, do your own run, sponsored walk, hold a bake sale, put up an event and other possibilities. Get your business, school, church, or other organisation your part of onboard too!
    We wouldn’t mind if you raise £10, £100, £500, £1000, £2000, £5000 or even £20,000, we will appreciate each penny.