Darwin Camera Club supports the Ibulanku community, Uganda

12/11/08

Ibulanku, Uganda.

Ibulanku is just north of Lake Victoria in Eastern Uganda. The Ibulanku Community Health Centre is a level III health centre and about to achieve hospital status. The centre provides maternal, primary health care, some operative procedures and immunisation and antenatal outreach services. The centre is also funded to provide a malaria prevention program (Australian funding) and a nutrition program. The centre has about 30 beds.

All the capital expenditure for the centre is provided by the congregation of St Alban’s Anglican Church in Leura, NSW. The centre opened in 2003. Each year the congregation runs a second hand book sale and the proceeds go to Ibulanku. In 2007 the congregation bought a local primary school, now called St Alban’s. The school had been founded by Rafina, a survivor of the wars in the north of Uganda. In 2006 Rafina died quite unexpectedly and the school started to founder. It is now growing and has 350 pupils enrolled, about 50-60 of whom are HIV/AIDS orphans. The schooling costs of these children are supported by donations from individuals in Australia.

Marg and Fergal Fleming, Camera Club members, have been volunteering at the clinic for nearly four years and have spent a total of around 9 months in the village. Marg provides clinical services and Fergal works mainly around sourcing funding for the clinic, plus helping with outreach, program monitoring and keeping the goat farm going. The goat farm has been funded by many Darwin people and provides milk for malnourished infants whose mother’s cannot feed them.

In 2008 the Darwin Camera Club donated $500 towards enabling orphans to attend St Albans school in Ibulanku. Further donations are planned for the future.

For more photos check out Fergal's gallery in the Member's photo galleries section.