Holding outreach antenatal and family planning clinics in isolated settings has been a key way MAMA has reached isolated, deprived communities in Western Uganda. These outreach clinics have been invaluable in developing strong relationships with these communities and their leaders, as precursors to establishing our permanent facilities.
MAMA’s most recent outreach has taken us back to the shores of Lake Albert to a village called Nkondo II, a fishing village where in the rainy season the village is usually cut off from any health centres and pregnant women are expected to care for themselves and deliver in their home.
In 2017 MAMA expanded to provide an outreach clinic in Kyarushasha, another rural village in Hoima District. We see around 85 pregnant mothers every six weeks, plus other women for family planning. We have seen an increase in uptake of family planning over the last six months.
“I am sitting on my sofa with a cup of coffee. I have to write a report about the new Outreach Clinic in Kaboya but I’m not sure where to start….it is not all about figures and statistics. Perhaps we should start from the beginning…”
The outreach clinic had been running for a few years previous, led by Grace and Barongo, and mainly offering HIV screening to the village and antenatal bookings for pregnant women. The funding run out a couple of years ago, which is when MAMA first got involved with it.