Wednesday June 1st – Addendum: The story behind Bwindi Community Hospital is very compelling. Dr. Scott Kellerman, a physician from California, founded BCH. After spending some time in the region, Dr Kellerman decided that the community really needed a hospital. He chose a location and decided to buy the land for the hospital he would build. The negotiations started at about $3,000. On the next day, however, they raised the price to $30,000, which was completely out of his price range. Somewhat disheartened, Dr. Kellerman decided to make the most of his stay and set up a temporary clinic. The clinic was seeing patients from the break of dawn to hours after sunset. Shortly thereafter, the village elders convened with the owners of the land. There was long debate and argument, until the chief’s voice silenced them all. The chief then approached Dr. Kellerman and offered the land for $2,500, the exact sum he had in the bank at Kampala. When Dr. Kellerman inquired about the sudden change, the chief responded, “Our children are dying. We need your help.”
The morning at the hospital starts with prayer and encouraging words. The group from ITW was introduced to the patients and staff, which line the benches. In this picture, Scott is convincing me that I need to stand and say a few words.
(Picture courtesy of Alec Jacobson)
I thought I would include a quick movie showing us getting gas. As you can see, when electricity is scarce, just about everything becomes more challenging. You will also get to see what joy lifesavers can bring. See the video clip here.
