Ugandan village gets extra help with health

A YORK health visitor who has travelled to Uganda four years running to build a village school and health centre has been awarded a travel bursary to continue her work.

Liz Staples, who works at Hob Moor Children’s Centre in York, is part of a group from Huntington church who travel to the country to help local families.

The travel bursary, given by the Community Practitioners’ and Health Visitors’ Association, means that Ms Staples can return to Uganda next year to see through the vital work she started in bringing health education to the village of Kyoga.

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Ms Staples said: “I’m absolutely delighted to be given the chance to go back to Uganda. The health centre is a very exciting project, which will bring so much to the people who live there. There will be clinics for HIV, malaria and vaccinations, separate wards for men and women, and even emergency delivery maternity services. We visit the village every year and have physically helped to build a school from scratch and will do the same with the health centre.”

During last year’s visit Ms Staples found her skills as a health visitor for York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust were in great demand running workshops for adults. She added: “It was very rewarding to see how eager people were to learn the kind of basic health education that we take for granted.

“Advice on hand washing, dental care, nutrition, and what to do when your child is ill was really valued. We also took some practical steps such as providing toothbrushes and mosquito nets.”

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