UGANDAN STAFF STORIES

Tushabe Rovence

Records and Data Officer

My names are Tushabe Rovence. I work as the records and data officer for MH.

I was born in Ibanda district in 1989. I come from a very big family as my father had two wives. There 14 children (all born at home) but now we are 8 – 3 boys and 5 girls. My father passed away when I was 8 months old. The mothers are still there together on the compound. I will never marry a man who has 2 wives though – I have seen so many problems coming up and cooperation was not good!

When I was young I was very stubborn, I loved my mum and I was the youngest, and we are still very close. My other siblings did not go to school because we didn't have enough money. But because I was the last child, my mother worked hard to educate me and was able to pay school fees for me.

I did very well at secondary school. I only did S6 (year 12) for one term because after that we could not manage school fees. I had a dream of learning how to use a computer. Then I requested to my mum to take me to where I can get training for computer – so I went to Entebbe for training in IT and Business Studies. I finished well, and went for a job in Kamwenge at an IT centre and started working there. Then from there I was lucky enough to be invited to join MH - I loved my job! When our Kamwenge project closed, I went to Mbarara and worked there until MH started working in Fort Portal. Then Maranatha again called me to work with them there – I never hesitated, I was very happy. Here in FP the place is good, we have many patients and I am  happy because most of the staff I was working with have joined us again, so we are still together.

I thank very much the directors at MH, for calling me back and loving me. I want to thank the people of Australia for the funding, love and care being given to us. We are really grateful. On behalf of the patients we thank you – they are really happy – they love our staff and services and we are praying that you continue supporting us without feeling tired. We promise you that as staff members we are working hard and do the best we can. Thank you very much.

 


Lauben

Security Guard

Lauben has a been Security Guard with MH since 2012. He is hard-working, loyal and almost always has a smile on his face and something to laugh about!
 
“I grew up in Kabale District in a small village. I lived with my parents until they divorced, then my father gave me to my grandmother to look after [traditionally men have the right to the children after divorce]. My grandmother fell ill and decided to move to Kamwenge to be with her children. I feared mistreatment from my father and new stepmother, so I went with her.
 
When my grandmother died I moved in with my Uncle and his family. He was very tough on me, and I had to be very polite and earn my place in his house. I had finished P5 (Year 5) at school in Kabale, and so kept going in Kamwenge – but it took me long to finish primary school as I only went to school a few days a week. Often my uncle’s family made me stay home and help dig or do other work. I worked to get school fees for secondary school, and managed to complete Senior 4 (Year 10).
 
Then I moved to Kampala and joined a security firm, where I received training. I worked for them for 2 years, before returning to Kamwenge to work as a security officer for an NGO. I worked there for 5 years and during that time, I met and married my wife. We got pregnant with our first child in our first year of marriage – it was a difficult time as I was looking for work. Then I found a job at Maranatha, which I really enjoy.
 
Apart from working at Maranatha, I enjoy football very much. I have always been in competitions as I like to play and watch. I am a big arsenal fan! I also enjoy reading in my free time.

 


Joshua Mbeeta

Laboratory Technician

My name is Joshua Mbeeta, I work as a laboratory technician for Maranatha Health.

Why I became a lab technician
I was in secondary school and my sister was always sickly. Every time my mum would take her to the nearby clinics or a government health centre, they would just give her anti-malarials and she wouldn’t get better. It was only when my mum took her to a private hospital, and they ran some tests, that they were able to come up with the right diagnosis. They treated her properly and she got better. But in the meantime my family had spent a lot of money in different clinics treating a wrong diagnosis.

In my mind I developed an idea that if I could learn how to test blood, maybe I would be able to help people like my sister. That is how it all begun. Then I did sciences at A level which led me to do  Bachelor of Medical Laboratory Science at the university.

My childhood career dream
When I was growing up in our village, there lived a brilliant lawyer, who was smart, rich, and respected by everyone. I always wanted to be like him and all my friends knew I was going to be lawyer, right up until that moment when I had that random thought that changed my mind. And up to now I don’t regret making that decision.

The hardest thing in my work
Sometimes dealing with ailing patients is quite challenging,  when you do all you can but the patient still passes on, it's one moment that I have never coped with well.

How my work at Maranatha makes a difference to people
I can confidently say that we try to do all we can to produce quality lab services. Compared to other labs in the region, Maranatha health lab is not into exorbitant profit making but rather cares about the quality of test results we give out to our clients. When we make a right diagnosis using a right result from the lab, the patient is managed well, the patients get better, the team wins and everyone is happy at the end of it all. As a lab personnel I feel so motivated and happy to be part of patient management.

The work environment at Maranatha is very good, everyones input in patient management is always valued irrespective of the cadre or race or tribe.

My future hopes and aspirations
I want to see Maranatha Health expand its service base and grow into a centre of excellence in all aspects, be it treatment, be it capacity building and systems strengthening.

As far as the lab is concerned, I would be happy to see the lab expand in terms of space personnel and ability to perform a wide range of specialised patient sample analysis in different lab departments be it pathology and cytology, microbiology and clinical chemistry.


Mbambu Milly

Senior Nurse

My name is Mbambu Milly and I am a senior nurse with Maranatha Health.

I'm from Kygegwa district (in the west of Uganda), I am the fifth born in my family – I have 2 brothers and 3 sisters. I am a Seventh Day Adventist by religion.

My mother was a midwife. I used to see her go to work and she used to tell about how me she would help mothers deliver, and she cared for patients so much. And so my heart would really want to help also. And then I would go to a government hospital with her and I would find children there seated waiting but there was no medical officer. I would see them in pain and I felt so bad for them and I would also want to help. I had that feeling in my heart like I wanted to help them, and so I became a nurse.

What I like about nurses is that they are also look very smart, with their uniforms and caps. I thought as a young girl "Wow! Let me become a nurse!”

I completed Senior 6, then I joined the enrolled comprehensive nursing course, and finished in 2011. After completing, I worked for Maranatha Health [in Kamwenge]. I felt I needed more training to give more help to the sick. I thought that, although I was helping, there was so much more I wished I could do. So I went back and completed my Diploma in Midwifery. And now I work for Maranatha Health in Fort Portal.

I like being a nurse because it involves people lives, I like helping when people are suffering, and you get to be with them. I really like midwifery and looking after small babies. I enjoy working for Maranatha Health very much. It is an organisation that came to help the poor, and I also like serving the poor, so when I saw that MH was doing that, I wanted to join.


Annet Assimwe

Receptionist

Hello, I’m Annet Assimwe, I work as a receptionist for MH. My role mainly focuses on the registration of patients, and receiving cash, consultation, lab, pharmacy, stamping paid on patients books, recording in the receipt and debtors books – those are my roles as receptionist.

Many times we are receiving patients who can’t afford to pay. I normally contact the management, and see the way out, and when they find out that the patient is totally poor, we end up bringing that patient and we help him without any payment.

Patients who have been coming to MH are very impressed about the services rendered at Maranatha. Indeed they are very happy, because many are being helped, especially the poor are very happy and indeed, Maranatha has changed the lives of people in Uganda. Thank you to the brothers and sisters in Australia for the support. May God bless you, thank you.


CONTACT

  E: contact@maranathahealth.org   A: 2A Bretwalder Ave, Leabrook, South Australia 5068   ABN: 15 928 552 503

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