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St Angela’s College community engagement in Uganda
This summer, four student nurses and two staff from St. Angela's College, Sligo, visited rural districts of Uganda to participate in several humanitarian community engagement projects. They delivered general health check clinics and vision assessments in several locations, from Entebbe to Soroti.
In preparation for the trip, a number of fundraising activities took place, which meant the team could financially support initiatives on the ground through a reputable community leader and founding director of NGO ‘Bright Kids Uganda’, Dr Victoria Nalongo Namusisi.
Donations were brought by the team or were purchased through local businesses in Entebbe, which included mattresses, blankets and mosquito nets for children’s dorms, educational supplies, a range of medical supplies and much-needed drugs, fifty fruit trees, as well as equipment for solar energy harvesting to allow for the opening of a new health clinic.
In addition, donations also secured a year’s salary for two full-time care support staff and one full-time nurse. Victoria welcomes the new partnership with St. Angela’s “I assure you that these donations will go a long way towards improving the childrens lives both at Bright Kids Uganda and Noah’s Ark Inclusive School for Disabled Children”.
As the 2023 African Humanitarian Award recipient, Victoria advocates promoting international students’ experiential learning in Uganda. Her vision is to ensure students and volunteers feel part of the community when they visit.
Head of the School of Nursing, Health Sciences and Disability Studies, Dr Edel McSharry, describes her experience:
“Meeting people who live with very basics means but yet can still smile and show their affection and appreciation, is something that will stay with us as a team. Our students took the time to listen and did whatever they could to help in every interaction they had with the children and the people they met and worked with; this is at the very core of what a good nurse is and I have no doubt that this experience has changed our students’ perspective and understanding of the challenges people in developing countries face – the learning they gained and compassionate approach they practiced when in Uganda will stand to them in their future nursing careers”.
Student nurses also presented nutrition and health workshops at a health conference to promote maternal and child health.
In addition, hundreds of eyeglasses were donated over the past several months, which were all categorised and, following a vision assessment, were hand-delivered to those who needed them. Donations could also purchase handcrafted cases which directly supported a local businesswoman in Entebbe.
The Uganda programme came about through a personal experience Programme Co-ordinator Seán Kelly had in 2017.
“Getting to reconnect with strong community leaders like Victoria is key to the success of any efforts we make”, he says and concludes by saying that “maintaining these relationships and contributing responsibly and sustainably can mean a brighter future for those we work with, and one St. Angela’s and Atlantic Technological University (ATU) can be proud to continue with”.
