January 2018: You Bring Miracles to Uganda
You Bring Miracles to Uganda
Miracles come in all forms.
For our Mission Doctors serving in rural Uganda, East Africa, miracles can come in little bottles and large life-saving machines.
Little Bruno, a six year old that Dr. Lou Coda had previously seen, was suffering from constipation, and his discomfort was so severe that his mother did not even bring him to the hospital. Because of your support, Mission Doctor Lou Coda was there and immediately handed Bruno’s mom a giant bottle of MiraLAX. A simple over the counter medication here in the United States brought healing to a young child in need, and a smile to his mother’s face.
Some miracles are as simple as a doctor remembering to bring along a bottle of laxatives, and other miracles like the Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes require the love and sharing of many people.
Over several months last summer, family and friends of Mission Doctor Lou Coda started a fundraising campaign for the big machine kind of miracle.
We will let Lou tell you about it:
“Traveling down the road from Kampala back to Mutolere, an 8-hour trip along the northern edge of Lake Victoria heading toward the west Rift Valley, I have a long talk with Mr. Mayunga (the hospital administrator) and Erick (the driver) about our concerns. One of Mr. Mayunga’s larger worries is the x-ray machine, which has been faithfully serving the thousands of patients at St. Francis Hospital for 30 years, after being used at a Dutch Hospital for the previous 30 years. It is finally dying and replacement parts are no longer available. How to continue providing X-ray-dependent care is a big worry and may require selling the hospital’s large supply truck as well as other nearly-impossible measures in order to purchase a new one.
After returning to Mutolere, my wife Martha and I talk about my trip and the conversation. In her next email update to our family and friends, she mentions the X-ray concern among other struggles I face here, not asking for help but just sharing the worries and stories of life in western Uganda.
It wasn’t long before we began receiving e-mails from many folks asking how they could help. My sister Barby offered to organize and set up an account online for people to donate. Another sister Rody called Elise (MDA’s Executive Director) asking if donations could also be made through MDA, and Elise most graciously agreed, even waiving the administrative costs.
Donations began coming in from friends and family, and soon those donations were multiplied by those from the friends and family OF our friends and family, some of whom we barely knew or had never met. Within a few months there was enough money to buy a new X-ray machine and to repair the building it would be installed in by upgrading the electricity and putting on a new roof.
I can’t help but think about starting with a few loaves and fishes and with Christ’s help multiplying them enough to feed everyone and have some left over. Thank you for being that miracle of caring, of providing for people in need at both St. Francis Hospital and many other locations.”
Thanks to your support of Mission Doctors, Dr. Lou Coda was on the ground in Uganda working closely with our partners at St. Francis Hospital providing the training and support. Together, one Mission Doctor, one medication and one x-ray machine at a time, we are building sustainable healthcare. Thank you for being our partner in this Mission of Hope and Healing.