Local woman looks to support clinic back home in Uganda
By Alejandra Pulido-Guzman - Lethbridge Herald on September 20, 2023.
LETHBRIDGE HERALDapulido@lethbridgeherald.com A local woman is asking members of the community for help to continue supporting those in medical need in her country of origin, by raising funds needed to keep a clinic running that was built with previous support from the Lethbridge community and surrounding area.Lethbridge resident Sophie Osaya had a vision over a decade ago to build a clinic in her native village of Busia in Uganda. The clinic was completed in January and now she is focusing her efforts in raising enough money to provide the clinic with equipment and medications to fill their pharmacy.
Osaya’s dream of building a clinic in her village was inspired by personal tragedy, as she witnessed seven of her siblings die from treatable diseases like malaria and measles.
In an interview with the Herald, Osaya said her dream started to become a reality with the help from people that not many would expect help from, which had her happily surprised and very thankful.
“I volunteered at the Lethbridge Correctional Centre, and when I talked about my vision, inmates and correctional officers offered their help. They raised money for it, and some of the officers even travelled to Uganda when the clinic’s foundation was built,” said Osaya.
Osaya also reached out to Bridges of Hope and registered her non-profit organization Amuka Twende in Uganda through them, as they are an international network of development agencies.
The foundation of the 4,000 squared feet clinic was poured in May 2010 and from there, many steps took place while funds were raised here in Lethbridge until the project was completed in January 2023.
Lethbridge resident and Board member of the Amuka Twende, Jim Leitch told the Herald that even though the building project is completed, they need to continue raising funds to keep the clinic running.
“You go through the capital or the building phase, and now we’re in the operational phase. It’s been open now since January and right now we’re just raising funds to keep it going. It takes about $3,500 a month to operate,” said Leitch.
 He said ultimately the goal is for the clinic to become self-sufficient once they have the equipment and supplies needed to provide services. He said that since the clinic is private, people would pay a small fee for services and that will eventually help them become self-sufficient.
The Salama Community Medical Centre in Busia, Uganda has seven medical staff, that operate within 10 rooms, a pharmacy, an ultrasound machine, a complete blood count machine, a maternity delivery suite, four in-patient beds, oxygen equipment, incinerator disposal and medical data system.
Leitch said among the supplies needed and where funds will be allocated to are an X-ray machine, an ECG machine, an ambulance and increasing the medicine stock for the pharmacy.
Osaya shared a story where someone she knew in Uganda acquired malaria medicine that was expired at a store and later died, and therefore it is so important for her to make sure they have proper medicine in their clinic’s pharmacy.
For those interested in learning more about the project and how they can help, a free information session will take place at Bridges of Hope located at 2825 2 Ave South, unit F, tonight from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Follow @APulidoHerald on Twitter 4
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