St. Francis Rehabilitation Centre
Soroti
St Francis Centre finds children with various physical disabilities, in need of corrective surgery, arranges for their operations at local hospitals, mainly Kumi, and looks after them and their education including vocational training to enable them to be confident, useful members of their communities .
FOAG first visited this Home for physically disabled children, near Soroti in NE Uganda, when it was situated in borrowed buildings at Madera. Now it has its own site at Pamba which involved putting up new buildings to house the children.
The Home is in the charge of Sister Sophie Akim who has energetically gone about this daunting task, which has also of course required outside funding. The Liliane Foundation, a Dutch charity for disabled girls, has provided funding for living accommodation for boys and girls in 2 splendid brick-built buildings. Another Dutch charity “Bake for Life” has provided a bakery which will give vocational training and, hopefully, an income to the Home.
FOAG sends around £3000 a year to this home for corrective surgery operations for the disabled children. Over the years FOAG has also responded to other cries for help from this home when they have had no-one else to turn for help e.g. when they had no food for the children etc ......especially when there was severe flooding in the area. FOAG has also provided mosquito nets.
FOAG has also channelled funds from other generous donors - Malvern College, Malvern and Colwall Rotary Clubs, Abergavenny Charitable Trust among others, to get a new kitchen and the first phase of a vocational training building built. This last building is already used for teaching tailoring as a vocational skill.
In 2009 ten village outreach clinics assessed 287 children. 49 children had corrective surgery, 35 children were fitted with walking devices and 55 children are resident in the Home who attend local schools . 56 other children are attending secondary school elsewhere.
FOAG has a good line of communication with the Centre and there is a well-established system of accountability and audit trail.
Latest News (Sept 2011)
Sister Sophie Akim, the dynamic leader and re- builder of this centre, has just written to thank FOAG for money received for children’s operations, completion of the kitchen building and for help with school fees for her younger twin brother and sister.
She said that it was raining at the time and cooking in the makeshift kitchen was a problem, so she is delighted to be able to continue the new kitchen building. She adds that the huge rise in the cost of living in Uganda amounts to “a terrible crisis” for the home.
Her next desperate need is for a vehicle in which to transport her disabled children, safely and legally, to and from hospital for operations and for after-care. It would also service the out-reach clinics which find and assess disabled children for treatment at St Francis Centre. £2,500 has already been donated for this project but a suitable vehicle will cost from £7 – 10,000. - Betty Hudson
Total given last year
£7293
Project Co-ordinator: Betty Hudson
A retired farmers wife, Betty has been working with FOAG since its inception in 1981. She project co-ordinates St Frances Rehabilitation Centre at Pamba, Soroti with Sister Sophie Akim.
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Dorm Building
Sister Sophie Akim receives mosquito nets from Iain Patton
Treatment
LATEST NEWS
St Frances has recently finished its new kitchen.
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Budaka Cheshire Home and Rehabilitation Centre - Aims to improve the quality of life for children with disabilities in a relatively poor agricultural area in Eastern Uganda.
Butiru Cheshire Home - Butiru Rehabilitation Cheshire Home is a non govermental organization run by the Sisters of Mary as a home for the rehabilitation of 40 - 60 disabled children. Children with physical disabilities are assessed through outreach clinics. Many of these are in need of operations. FOAG assists annually with the cost of operations.
Masindi Centre for the Handicapped - Is a school of 117 pupils with a variety of handicaps. The emphasis is on education and vocational training so that re-integration into family and village life is a real possibility.
Kamurasi Primary School - Offers specialist education such a brail and sign language, vocational training to provide life enhancing skills and a standard curriculum based education. Kamurasi advocates integrated teaching with disabled children learning alongside the able bodied children.
Mengo and Guluddene - The Hospital's vision is to encourage each child in both the school and clinic to develop as fully as possible – physically, emotionally, mentally, socially and spiritually.
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