This January we (John and Rosemary Dyer) were privileged to go out to Uganda to visit our daughter, Dr. Joanna Dunn, a palliative care registrar who is working for Hospice Africa Uganda for a year. We were thrilled to meet up with Dr. Anne Merriman who founded the charity, and also to have a tour round the hospice compound in Kampala, seeing the wonderful work that is being done both to alleviate pain for those terminally ill, mainly with AIDS and cancer, and also to develop the skills of both Ugandan and other African medical staff by training teams and individuals in palliative medicine and care.

   In April our son Hugh, our daughter Kate and her husband Steve also travelled to Uganda to enjoy some of its' many attractions -notably white water rafting!- but more particularly to visit Joanna, to meet her friends and colleagues involved at the Hospice and to hear more about what her job involves. She is now working at the Mbarara centre, and her job involves clinical work in the hospital and home visits, and as the only doctor there at times she is able to prescribe the necessary medication which is supplied by the hospice. Many of these very sick patients are unable to travel up to Kampala for treatment because of distance, and because they do not have the money.

   We all enjoyed exploring the most beautiful country of Uganda and being welcomed by all those we met, and are now determined to support the work of Hospice Africa; hence our appeal for sponsorship for our 'team' on 20th June, when they will be cycling the 'Clevedon challenge', a ride of 38 miles. Team members: John, Hugh and his wife Angela, and Angela's brother Peter Neville.

 

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