Today, back in Mbale, my final full day in the field before travelling home was focused on the J.O.Y Health Centre and Hospice.
Dr Jan White is a medical missionary and doctor from the UK, who single-handedly set up and has run the J.O.Y Centre for over thirty years. Jan passed the age of retirement about eight years ago… but she is still going.
My visit was focused on the condition of the existing building, and what could be done until such a time as funds could be raised to build a new centre. This may or may not happen, but with the encouraging discussions I had with the Deliverance Church in Kampala a couple of days ago, there is now a small chance that it will. As we all know, small chances are exactly what Mildmay works with to perform miracles!
These photographs show that the J.O.Y Centre is in serious need of maintenance work, and whilst major work in some areas may be necessary, it may not be prudent, and so some difficult decisions about the centre's future need to be made soon.
The day finished with a meeting in my hotel's restaurant, where we went through the challenges that Jan faces, of which there are many.
As I made my way to bed it was clear that not all was well with me. The challenge with travelling abroad is that our bodies do not have the same immunity to local bugs and so we often end up with a dodgy tummy. For me, it always seems to happen just ahead of my trip home. Ah well, you take the rough with the smooth.
Geoff Coleman
CEO, Mildmay Hospital
Mzungu, also known as muzungu, mlungu, musungu or musongo, is a Bantu word that means "wanderer" originally pertaining to spirits. The term is currently used in predominantly Swahili speaking nations to refer to foreign people dating back to 18th century. The noun Mzungu or its variants are used in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi, Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Comoros, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mayotte, Zambia and in Northern Madagascar (the word changed to "vozongo" in Malagasy, but locals will still understand the word mzungu) dating back to the 18th century.