High school students help provide medical care

For too many people in Uganda, medical care is an unaffordable luxury, even when treatment is urgent and necessary.

Kazibwe Muzamiru, of the Nile Humanitarian Development Agency, described the desperate circumstances of one local man near the eastern city of Jinja, who suffered a fractured arm in a car accident three years ago. Because the man lives in poverty, he has been unable to fix his broken bones. He has lived with unimaginable pain, his arm dangling and useless, and with nowhere to turn.

“People like this man, they don’t have money to pay their bills and receive medical treatment,” Muzamiru said. “And there are many people like him in this area. They are getting sick, or they are injured, and they aren’t going to the hospital. They need our support.”

During the weekend of June 10-11, 2023, that man was provided the support he needed. He was one of the more than 1,000 people who received free medical care at a camp made possible by Embrace Relief’s partnership with the Nile Humanitarian Development Agency.

Funding for the camp was provided by an Embrace Relief Group FUNdraiser created by eight high school students through the Bright Choice Foundation, a nonprofit organization in Houston, Texas, dedicated to providing mentorship and educational programs for children. Through hard work and communication, the Bright Choice students raised more than $13,000 to provide crucial relief for vulnerable people in this region of eastern Uganda.

In addition to the life-changing effects they had on the visitors to the medical camp, Bright Choice’s Group FUNdraiser also supported:

• The construction of a water well, providing an essential supply of clean water for more than 1,000 residents in a local village;
• The delivery of 150 food packages to families in need; and
• The organization of a community dinner for 250 orphaned children.

Additionally, the Bright Choice students made the long flight from Texas to Uganda in order to visit the communities they supported, and to see firsthand the impact they made. This is an opportunity afforded to all Embrace Relief Group FUNdraisers.

“We were very grateful for the services of the students who came here from Texas,” Muzamiru said. “And we thank Embrace Relief so much for the generous support to Uganda and other countries. It is needed very greatly, and will continue to be needed greatly. It is about helping humanity.”

Inside The Medical Camp: ‘Thrilled to Help People’

When word got out among the population of the region around Jinja that the medical camp would be opening, crowds of grateful people responded. Within a few hours of the camp’s opening on June 10, Muzamiru said, the camp had already treated nearly 400 patients with a variety of symptoms. Some suffered from physical injuries requiring surgery, like the man with the three-year arm fracture. Some had open wounds that had gone untreated for months. Still others suffered from acute or chronic diseases requiring medication including malaria, typhoid, and syphilis.

The medical camp was prepared for all of these cases.

“We have four doctors here, in four different rooms, with different specialties,” Muzamiru said Friday afternoon, as the camp was in full swing. “We are able to have doctors examine each person, give their advice, and proceed to the pharmacy if it is required. There is also a lab, so that if we need to address any complications, we can investigate.”

This is the second medical camp that the agency has been able to hold for the people of this region this year. The agency relies on partner organizations like Embrace Relief, whose invaluable support and funding directly provides a dramatic quality-of-life boost for hundreds and thousands of people.

And, Muzamiru notes, the need for quality medical care is so great among the impoverished people of eastern Uganda, making that support even more critical.

“Whenever we have the chance to do this, we are thrilled to help people,” Muzamiru said. “You can see the effect it has, because when people come here to receive care, and they return with medicine and treatment, they tell people back home about our camp. Once our camp starts, there are always people coming in search of care. So there is always the hope that we can do more of these camps, and have them last longer.”

About Group FUNdraising

Group FUNdraising with Embrace Relief is one highly effective way to support causes like the recent medical camp in Jinja. Starting a Group FUNdraiser with Embrace Relief requires as few as three people to get started.

Pick a cause from any of Embrace Relief’s ongoing programs – or, like the Bright Choice Foundation, your fundraiser can support multiple causes in the same geographic area – sign up through our website, and then get started raising money. Once you reach your fundraising goal, you’ll have the opportunity to travel to see firsthand the impact your project has made.

Completing a Group FUNdraiser will have an immense impact on the lives of real people, just as it did for the people who received medical care at the camp in Uganda. It can also benefit you by boosting your skills, creating closer community ties, making your resume or college application stand out, and helping you grow as a person.

To learn more about Group FUNdraising with Embrace Relief, check out our Frequently Asked Questions page. And to get started on your own project, fill out the sign-up form below: