This Christmas won’t you think of Uganda; and Buy-A-Net!

 
It’s a freezing -20 degrees and you would think that the last thing I would have on my mind would be mosquitoes!!!
Any other winter Christmas season that is true except that last August I had the privilege to spend time in Uganda with Buy-a-Net Malaria Prevention Group.

 That experience doesn’t just leave one like the rusty red dirt we shook from our runners as we boarded the plane for home. Indeed the people we met, the work we participated in with community leaders is never far from my thoughts.

Happily our team was able to assist in the village distribution of hundreds of specially treated bed nets while in Uganda.

 This was all made possible through the donations made by you, my fellow Canadians, towards stopping the spread of Malaria one village at a time.

 I saw Mothers and Fathers struggling with the chores of everyday life through their malarial fevers so their children would have clean clothes or food.

 We heard testimonies of families, mothers and their children who told us how grateful they are to Canada for the help that is provided in the form of the net. How Malaria, although still rampant, is lessened for some of their most vulnerable family members because they can now sleep under a medicated net.

 These are the stories that warm your heart but trouble your soul because we are still only able to provide one net per household and the need is so much greater.

It’s cold here in Canada and we won’t be bothered by our seasonal mosquitoes but our Ugandan families, mothers and children do not have the cold for protection.

 They have no protection: except your gift of $6 this Christmas.   My experience with Buy-a-Net working and sharing with our Ugandan partners has written with indelible ink on my soul a story that changes the very lens with which to view the world.

 Malaria still goes on during the Christmas Season in Uganda.   This Christmas think of Uganda and Buy-a-Net!!!

Seasons’ Greetings,

Kathy McPhail
RN, BScN, MHA

“It seems for most Manitobans that summer sort of just slipped away but for me, this is a summer I will never forget.  I was able to spend two weeks at the first of August with a Canadian volunteer organization called Buy-A-Net in Uganda, Africa.  I could not have done so without the support of the RHA Board of Directors for my request to be out of country (and at the time they were approving my request we had no idea what level of  H1N1 would be occurring) so I cannot thank them enough.  As well, the support of the Senior Management team in covering for me also enabled this dream to take shape.

Buy-A-Net is an organization that was started about six years ago by a couple of nurses (Gail Fones, from Manitoba, is one of those and her lead partner from Kingston Ontario, Debra Lefebvre). They are committed to stop Malaria one village at a time with the group’s campaign of Stop the Bite, Stop Malaria.

I was one of a group of 10 volunteers on this trip and it was made even more special as I traveled with one of my daughters who was also part of this work.  We worked with community leaders in areas identified by Buy-A-Net in the less fortunate areas of Kampala, a city of 1.5 million and also in a few villages in rural Uganda.

In the designated areas, our team along with local leaders registered homes one by one and assisted local trained Ugandans to provide group education sessions about Malaria, the etiology, signs, symptoms and prevention methods which include the medicated malaria net.   We also monitored homes to ensure the nets were hung and being used by priority persons within the homes and community leaders evaluate the success of the Buy-A-Net projects.  One net per home is distributed and yet every 30 seconds, a child dies in Uganda with Malaria.  The nets are made possible by Canadians’ donations to this effort.  A net costs $6 which is not much to us but is about 14,000 Ugandan shillings and far from reach for many of the Ugandans we met.

We also had the opportunity to immunize children in one of the rural villages where Buy-A-Net has a presence, visit two schools, one a rural boarding school and one within the city of Kampala.  These have made a lasting impression on me personally.  They have so few to no resources for the children and with our kids being able to pick up the lists of things for their new school year, I think of these children again with near to nothing, not even a lunch for their 12-hour school day!

We also visited Mulago Hospital which is a 2,000-bed facility within the city.  I would love to share these learnings.  Again, they seem able to achieve much with very very little.  The ethical decisions that nurses and physicians face daily are so overwhelming.

Yet, in spite of many of these situations, I was awestruck by the overall spirit of happiness, warmth, and appreciation the Ugandan people shared with us.  The kids are amazing and love to sing, play games with you or cuddle, just like all kids.  That is the most lasting impression I will keep with me: the wonderful people and their spirit!

If you would like to read about Buy-A-Net’s work they can be found at www.buyanet.ca or I would love to take an evening and share my pictures and stories with any of you or with groups who may be interested.  For me, this has been a nursing experience of a career!”

Kathy McPhail
Chief Executive Officer
Regional Health Authority – Central Manitoba Inc.

Our donor’s support will go that much further in eliminating malaria and saving lives sooner rather than later. This is exactly what we have all been hoping for since we began in 2004.
Debra Lefebvre, Founder