In December Dr. Listle started with ward rounds and our first steps in the operation theater together with a German friend and college. The first patient operated was a 16-year-old orphan who suffered from severe machete attack which cut his knee open up to the bone. He came from another hospital with a deep wound infection which required several operations to create clean conditions before wound closure. Within 3 months another operation will be needed to reconstruct the tendons to make him walk properly again. 

The mother with the two children came to us after 2 hours on the back of a motorbike riding through the district during the rainy season to get help. Their kids where brought in in seriously ill condition due to malaria. After treatment they recovered quickly. The picture shows the happy family before discharge back home. 

                    the Ministry of Health congregation visiting our new operation theater                        the ministers Dr. Ruth Acheng and Dr. Chris signing into our visitors´ book

Braking news: on November 19th a congregation from the Ministry of Health with the two ministers Dr. Ruth Acheng and Dr. Chris Baryiomunsi came to visit our Katate Health Center project. Their reaction was very positive even overwhelming! The minister promised the governmental support of staff for the operation theater and the building of a new maternity ward. This visit and the cooperation with the government is a milestone for our project. We want to give a role model of how the renewal of the Ugandan Health System could work: a private - public partnership of foreign donors together with the Ugandan Government driven by the values and motivation of christian love and care for the patients. God bless our visions and the work of our hands for his glory!

                                                            ein Licht in der Dunkelheit - unser Solarsystem im Einsatz

During a two week trip in October/November a modern solar based energy system was installed upon the main operation theater and the laboratory building to guarantee uninterruptible power supply for our hospital. Together with two German engineers from BOS-AG in Neu-Ulm/Germany this challenging task was mastered thanks to the passionate and straight forward working style of our German partners. The necessity of this action was in front of our eyes every day: major power black-outs of the Ugandan main grit and many patients in need of surgery ...

The effect of our renovations is overwelming - obviously in front of our eyes for everybody to see. Outpatient numbers rose about 34% in July compared to June 2019 up to 1760 patients! And we are just half way through with making the old new but we will proceed in spite of all challenges - step by step ... by Gods grace

While our container with the solar energy system is being prepared for shipping and we´re fighting to take some last bureaucratic hurdles the renovation of the General Ward is advancing fast. Despite some heavy rain falls our local team of builders and the architect are doing a great job in restauring the old and making everythin new ... 

So it was no surprise that we could announce the renovation was completed in time on 1st of August 2019.

At the same time we have finished the operation theater we started the renovation of the maternity ward. The old buildings were in terrible conditions and renovation was urgently needed. Within eight weeks we did a complete restauration of the this most important of the old buildings. 

Well, the theater is finished. We cleaned the operation room and had a little opening prayer ceremony. The next very important step is to install a powerful solar based energy system to guarantee non-stop energy supply. This will prevent our precious equipment from being damaged. 

In bright new colours out operation theater presents itself just a few weeks before the opening ceremony. We have the first part of equipment beeing delivered and within a few weeks we plan to start everyday working procedure in our new building which means we are about to start operating!

We are almost finished! Remaining work to be done is putting the doors in place, window glas, cleaning, connecting sinks to running water and then we can start. The equipment is ordered and soon will be delivered. We are all very happy and excited.

Many meetings and talks with local politicians and government representatives are encouraging us and we notice that our project is gaining more and more attention. The next step is the renovation of the old facilities.

In August Dr. Listle was traveling to Kanungu/Uganda to visit the construction site and came back with very positive and encouraging feed-back. A lot has been accomplished and no obstacle could hinder the work to be completed soon. The operation theater now presents itself in best shape shortly before final painting, furniture and electric installation will finish our project. Under the leading architect Moses very good work has been done and to be inside the building has been a pleasure.

The private wing has been now fully completed with beautiful bathrooms for every two bed room for private patients. This will generate extra income to substitute the running costs of the hospital. In November we are planning to put furniture and equipment in the building. To God´s honor and glory we will have our opening ceremony and finally can start operating. The community is waiting. Every month a woman dies because of lacking facilities to perform a C-section ... Soon we will finally be able to change this! Thank you all, thank God. Let´s keep on working!

Installation of electricity and water supply. Then plastering of the inside and the outside walls. We try to hurry up because we heard some rumors that the President Musoweni himself could pass by for the opening ceremony at the end of August.

Looking back this time has been difficult due to corruption which made us loose time and money for our operation theatre. The progress was slow and stumbling during this time. And we were glad when this time of delay was over.

The interior construction work has been realized step by step until we found better general conditions from June/July 2018 on. Building God´s kingdom is no 100m sprint competition but a long lasting commitment.

End of June/beginning of July Dr. Listle visited the construction side again for a very important reason: the needs assessment managment with a representative of Project C.U.R.E. Colorado/USA. We visited the construction site and the Ministry of Health to clear burocrazy issues. Project C.U.R.E. offered to provide all equipment needed for the operation theater to be fully functional. We would just have to pay for the shipping cost - 20,000 USD. In the end it turned out that we will not come to an agreement with them ...

The construction work is going well, the roof is on top and we can push on to the next step with our operation theater. Unfortunately the costs of the building have risen due to inflation and higher costs for building material in this very remote area of Uganda. But we keep an praying and working and fighting for the good work and with the grace of God it will be good. Thanks for every support!

In the month of April we could make some good progress. The walls have risen up to their full height and soon we shall be able to put the roof on top. The workers are bending and weaving the steel elements with their own hands before the concrete will be pored into the wooden cladding to create the strong concrete-steal elements in the construction of our operation theater building.

The walls are growing. Shortly after a break over Christmas and New Years Eve the construction work went on. Apart from a few problems because of rough weather conditions we are happy to see constant progress. On a short safari trip you can see tree climbing lyons and elephants in the nearby Queen Elizabeth National Park.

pictures above: just a few days before christmas these beautiful pictures were send to us from Moses our architect supervising the construction of our operation theater in Katate: it is going on quickly. The foundation has been layed properly and quickly the walls are being raised. Now there is time to pause for Christmas Eve and calm down a little bit inbetween the years until we will start afresh in the new Year 2017. A blessed Christmas time everyone!

In December 2016 Dr. Listle went down to Kanungu to supervise the ongoing construction work of our operation theater in the Katate Health Center. Together with former minister of health Dr. Chris, the mayor of the city of Kanungu, the staff of the Health Center and Reverant Hamlet he had a little official ground braking ceremony. At the same time as the construction of the operation theater progresses the private facilities are soon to be finished.

pictures above 1st row: laying the foundations for our operation theater with former minister of health, Dr. Chris

pictures above 2nd row: official ceremony laying of the foundation stone and the (almost) finished private facilities

All our efforts throughout the last years now have finally reached their goal - we started building our operation theater in Katate! We are happy and excited and in the name of our responsible project coordinators Dr. med H. Listle, Pastor Bokelmann and Reverent Hamlet Kabushenga Mbabazi we express our deepest gratitude towards all our supporters, friends and family - thank you very much!

Just before leaving to Katate for the 2nd time this year at the end of November a few impressions from our building site - see for yourselves ...

pictures above: preparing the foundation has begun: walls of bricks are laid through the natural soil which later after beeing compressed will recieve another layer of big natural stones after the concrete layer will finish the foundation of our operation theater building

From 24th to 30th of January 2016 Dr. Listle visitied Kanungu town the second time to see the progress of our project in Katate Health Center. It was a very encouraging visit. Briefly the most important facts:

1. in cooperation with the local rotary club Kanungu/Bwindi Forest, our friends in the Netherlands and the local government of Kanungu the private facilities could be constructed. Four 2-bed rooms with separate showers and toilet for each unit have been built and are soon to be finished. The amount of 5,000 Euros needed for the final interior arrangements have been provided from the funds of this project. This means that a very important step towards sustainability has been reached ahead of our original time schedule. We are very proud and grateful to all our donors and partners!

 pictures above: Dr. Listle and a young Rotarian in front of the new private facilities

2. Thanks to the initiative of Rev. Hamlet the government of the Kanungu district provided a doctor for Katate Health Center from January 2016. Dr. Emily Tuwakire is now the appointed medical officer in charge of the Katate Health Center. After the construction of the operation theater we can expect additional medically support for the surgical service of our Health Center. During a staff celebration of Katate Health Center Dr. Listle could met Dr. Emily and some new staff members.

            left: Dr. Emily (on the left) with medical staff members                                         right: Dr. Listle with staff members of Katate Health Center

3. Since January 2016 the Grate Lake Regional College after finishing the latest construction work to expand it´s capacities for teaching natural science such as biology, physics and chemistry it has been officially announced Grate Lake Regional University! In cooperation with Katate Health Center we now have the possibility to teach clinical officers. These clinical officers as nurses with advanced medical knowledge are a great help for the doctors in every day work life in the hospitals. So far there are only two centers in Uganda for training clinical officers and the demand for these medical educated nurses in Uganda is high.

      left: the newly finished extension building of Grate Lake Regional University          right: modern medias for students of the Grate Lake Regional University