There was an official opening of the Operating Theatre and Pathology Laboratory on Wednesday, 17th November 2010 by his Excellency Mr Klaus Dieter Düxmann, the German ambassador to Uganda.

Kolonyi health centre is located in the Eastern region of Uganda in Mbale district in Nakaloke sub-county. The health centre is 8 km along the Mbale to Kumi road and is 3 km from Nakaloke.

The health centre was established by SALEM Brotherhood in 1981 as a dispensary to provide medical care to the children and babies home after insurgency in the North East in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The health centre was later developed to support the whole community in Nakaloke Sub County and the neighbouring areas mainly in the districts of Budeka, Kumi, Sironko and Kapchorwa.

The health centre serves a population of 40,000 and is registered with the Ministry of Health. It is also affiliated to the Uganda Medical Protestant Bureau (UPMB) and works in partnerships with other organisations.

Services and accommodation at the health centre include:

In patient services (general and private wards, paediatric / nutrition ward, isolation unit, maternity / delivery suite / Outpatient services, Outreach to communities and schools.

Laboratory
Operating Theatre
Emergency Ambulance

Laboratory
The pathology laboratory was until recently housed in a wooden building almost 30 years old. It was originally constructed to provide the health centre at Salem. Work commenced on the foundations of the new building in April 2010 and was completed in November 2010.

The range of services currently provided by the laboratory includes those below. This will be extended when new additional equipment becomes available. For example; to include culture and sensitivity tests on samples to test the resistance or treatability of infections to antibiotics.

Laboratory Services provided at Kolonyi Health Centre:

Blood tests (Malaria, HIV …)
Urine tests
Sputum tests (Tuberculosis)
Stool test

Operation Theatre
The work on the operation theatre commenced with the foundations of the building in 2003 and it was completed in 2007. Anaesthetic services are provided at prearranged times through an agreement with Mbale Hospital.

The range of surgical services now includes:

Appendicectomy
Caesarean section
Circumcision (Male)
Excisions and biopsies
Hysterectomy
Sterilisation and much more.

The health centre aims to promote and support a model of health that empowers individuals and the community to take an active role in improving and managing their own health, and to develop solutions to solve common health problems like AIDS or Malaria.

The team of young people from Aston and inner city Birmingham spent 17 days in Uganda working on various projects with local people and visiting schools and community projects. The main focus of their work was digging drainage trenches and septic tanks in the hard clay African soil to provide sanitation for the village.

It was hard work particularly in the heat, but fun learning how to use traditional tools; to quote one member of the team “to share in everyday life with people from a completely different culture was fascinating. We learnt from one another, shared stories, shared challenges, shared drinks and by the end of it we were genuine friends”- Olly.

By the end of our time, we were able to speed up the process of digging but still we were’nt as quick as Silas and Rowan (local Ugandan’s) who continued to dig double our speed without sweating!

To read in detail the teams progress in Uganda go to the expeditions button and click Uganda Team 2010.

Despite a little rain, this wasn’t enough to put people off. Many came on the day to abseil and joined in with others supporting the charities. After climbing 110 steps up the old Anglo-Saxon built church tower, it was time to be rigged up and ready for the decent. Old and young, tall and small all battled to get over the battlements at the top, but once over it was a almost free falling (but with a rope of course).

DJ Zorro played the music and got the crowd behind those that had a little scare of being so high, but 77 abseilers and we had no refusals during the day.
When asked are you ready, Bill one of the more senior abseilers on the day said ‘of course I’m ready’… He did it in no time, beating some of the younger ones.

We want to thank everyone who helped make the day such a success. We particularly want to acknowlegde the generosity of Aston Parish Church and its members, Urban Devotion Birmingham, Birmingham Association of Youth Clubs and The Salvation Army. All those that helped before, during and after the event, without you the day wouldn’t have happened – thank you.

The Abseil was just one event in raising funds to support the work in Aston and in Uganda. We are a charity that solely replies of volunteers and the generosity of people like you. Please do continue to support our work by going to our website or clicking here  www.justgiving.com/rejuvenateworldwide/

Experience Uganda on our 2 week international programme. “An ‘African’ experience of a lifetime to a beautiful and diverse country, a personal guide to meet the friendliest people, to work and make a lasting difference to local people and so much more.

Our international programme is an ideal opportunity to see the real Africa, meet and work with local Ugandan’s, make new freinds and have your outlook on life changed.