My name is Benjamin Jabke and I am a German doctor. I have been volunteering at Kiwoko Hospital from the “German Medical Missionary Team”, and in October I will complete my one-year service.
In August, in addition to the daily hospital routine, I also participated in medical outreaches. At one outreach we went to Buzibwera, which is about 2 hours away from Kiwoko Hospital. At first, we celebrated a church service together with the people of Buzibwera. Afterwards we offered different free medical treatment stations, such as eye, adult and pediatric stations.
Health insurance and medical treatment are very expensive for the majority of the people in Uganda, which is why people attend in big numbers where they are offered free treatment.
At this mission, we worked outside in the shadow of a tree. It was a special experience, to see how simple “being a doctor” can be. The number of patients was huge, and we worked until we had to take our cell phones as torches to write and examine. Everyone from our team was there voluntarily in their free time and the team spirit was very special. I enjoyed it very much. Patients could be helped, and people gave their lives to Jesus. It was a special day!
At the end of August, I was part of the “Bombo Mission” for a week. This is an annual event where patients get free treatments. Because of COVID, this was the first time it had been held since 2019.
Again, the number of patients was huge. With a team of 300 people (about 30 doctors), we were able to treat more than 1000 patients a day including X-rays, ultrasounds, lab results, dispensing medications, and minor surgeries.
These were exhausting days. But there was also a special team spirit, with employees taking a week off to serve the people. Life during the week was very simple: sleeping in cramped quarters, showering with a bucket, and for every meal, noon and night, there was always the same food – matoke, rice and posho. This reminded me of attending Christian Camp as a teenager! It was a challenging but very special week.
Ben.
Thanks for the service Friends I am so happy for the great work