Rotary invests sh1b in Mukono health facility
Francesca Kakooza, the president of the Rotary Club of Kampala South, said the club started supporting the project 14 years ago, initially constructing a building that houses the maternity ward, dental unit and outpatient department
Rotarians inspect the doctors’ quarters ahead of the official handover. Photo by Ibrahim Ruhweza.
___________________ Jimmy Galabuzi. (Credit: Ibrahim Ruhweza)
The Rotary Club of Kampala South has invested more than sh1b in improving healthcare at Kikandwa Health Centre in Mukono District over the past 14 years, including the construction of a new doctor's residence worth more than sh300m.
The residence, which was commissioned on Saturday, has been named Galabuzi House in honour of 81-year-old retired teacher Jimmy Galabuzi, whose efforts helped bring the health facility to the community.
Galabuzi, who arrived in Kikandwa in 1968 as a teacher, said residents had struggled for decades to access healthcare, as the government health centre in Kasawo, Kitovu, served a vast area with a large population.
He said women sometimes delivered babies without skilled attendants or adequate equipment, while patients seeking better medical services had to travel to Kayunga, Jinja or Naggalama.
Having also served as a local council chairman for 10 years, Galabuzi understood the challenges facing residents and began mobilising support for a health facility.
After assessing the situation, the visitors agreed that the community urgently needed a health facility. When they asked whether he had land on which it could be constructed, Galabuzi declined to offer his own, preferring a location that would be accessible and acceptable to the entire community.
Instead, he approached the Church of Uganda bishop, who allocated church land for the project.
“I wanted the facility to be built in an area that would be ideal for everyone in the community, because many would think it was my hospital set up for my own gains,” Galabuzi said.
The facility was equipped with medicines, while arrangements were made with Mukono Church of Uganda Hospital to provide healthcare workers.
Francesca Kakooza, the president of the Rotary Club of Kampala South, said the club started supporting the project 14 years ago, initially constructing a building that houses the maternity ward, dental unit and outpatient department.
She said the club's investment, supported by international partners, had also helped equip the maternity, neonatal, dental and outpatient departments.
The Rotary Club president and the health facility in-charge join Dr Godfrey Kitakule, a past district governor of Rotary District, during the handover of the doctors’ residence. (Photo by Ibrahim Ruhweza).
The project has received support from the Rotary Club of Des Moines AM, Drake University, Shining City Foundation and Rotary International through its foundation.
Beyond infrastructure, the partners have supported maternal and child health activities, including training village health workers, educating expectant mothers, and providing menstrual hygiene and first aid training.
However, the facility still faces financial challenges. The in-charge, Julius Turinawwe, said Kikandwa operates as a private not-for-profit facility and charges subsidised fees to sustain its operations and pay staff.
He said many residents, who are predominantly low-income earners, struggle to afford even sh10,000 for treatment, affecting patient attendance.
Turinawwe appealed to the Government and development partners to support the facility with essential medicines and funding for staff salaries to enable it to reduce treatment costs.