The work of our Sisters in Rubanda, Uganda, is one of the hundreds of ways in which Medical Mission Sisters around the world try to be a healing presence to those in need today.

Uganda, also known as the Pearl of Africa, is home to 20.8 million people. Most live in the rural areas, with little or no health facilities. In 1988, our Sisters started a Primary Health Care Program in Rubanda, in the mountainous southwestern part of Uganda. The program covers 46 villages.

Our Rubanda Primary Health Care Program offers both preventive and curative services, including: maternal and child health care, training of Community Health Workers (CHWs) and Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs), village health committees, spring protection, workshops on sexually transmitted infections, and treatment of patients in the outpatient department. The CHWs do home visits, health education, and child welfare clinics.

Sister Joan Marie Doud, a nurse and midwife from the U.S., heads our curative clinic at Rubanda. She also assists mothers with difficult deliveries. The TBAs are taught how to differentiate normal from abnormal labor. The latter they refer to the clinic. The staff at the clinic sees up to 150 patients each day, many with malaria and AIDS. A simple hostel, just yards away, houses 12-15 people who have traveled miles for care and need overnight accommodations.

African Sister Edith Dug-yi, a nurse and midwife, was very active in establishing Community Based Health Care (CBHC) training. It emphasizes family-focused safe motherhood, and involves the men of the area. She recalls the first sessions she gave in the late 1990's:"One thing I heard again and again from the men in each group was, 'Sister, we need education.' … this struck me, and made me happy we had included them."