The Top Ten Things We Learned On Our Trip This Year
Sharon and Sarah with Dr. Martin Ogwang, Institutional Director at Lacor Hospital
JULY 11, 2025
THE TOP TEN THINGS WE LEARNED ON OUR TRIP THIS YEAR
We just returned from our annual trip to Uganda to visit Lacor Hospital and St. Jude Children’s Home and see firsthand the impact of your generosity. From meaningful conversations with staff to moments of joy with the children, the trip was a reminder of why this work matters.
We've captured the highlights. Enjoy!
10. The new 30-bed neonatal unit you helped fund is currently at full capacity. Last year, it admitted over 1,000 newborns, both those born at Lacor and those referred from outside. Babies transferred in from other locations are most critically ill and have a higher mortality rate, reinforcing the need for antenatal care and delivery in well-equipped facilities.
9. St. Jude Children's Home has a maximum capacity of 70 children and currently houses 68. Staff are in the process of hiring two additional "mothers" to help care for the children and maintain an effective caregiver-to-child ratio. Social workers are actively working to reunite children with family members in the community. However, demand for the Home's services remains high, as evidenced by the continued rise in residents.
8. We had the opportunity to accompany Lacor Hospital's outreach team and observe their work firsthand. A group of nine professionals travel to remote villages eight times per month, offering integrated services that include health education, antenatal care, immunizations, and screenings for sickle cell disease, HIV, and cervical cancer.
7. Admissions to Lacor Hospital's three peripheral health centers have increased. The Hospital has strategically strengthened these centers to bring services closer to rural communities, improving access and reducing overcrowding at the main Hospital, allowing it to focus on complex cases.
6. Although malaria cases are historically low, children, especially those with sickle cell disease, remain at high risk. Lacor Hospital has begun administering the malaria vaccine to children ages two and under. The vaccine reduces the risk of contracting malaria, lessens the severity of illness in those infected, and helps prevent hospitalization and death.
5. Physical therapists at St. Jude's clinic serve over 100 children with disabilities. Of these, 19 live at the Home, 24 reside in the surrounding community, and 54 receive care through outreach to remote villages.
4. Endoscopy is one of Lacor's specialized services and one of the only institutions offering it in the region, serving thousands of patients with gastrointestinal disorders each year. A few years ago, donors to Social Promise funded a complete endoscopy system for the Hospital. Since then, endoscopy services have doubled, with a 100% increase in cases last year alone.
3. When we visited the primary school last year, there were approximately 480 students. That number has now grown to 520, thanks in large part to the school lunch program, which is funded by Social Promise donors. St. Jude Primary is one of the few area schools that provides meals to students.
2. Lacor Hospital now has a skilled data team, led by biostatistician Denis Onzima, responsible for tracking prevalent conditions in the region. Their work ensures that the Hospital is prepared to respond effectively to community health needs.
1. Anena Peace is a student whose educational journey you have supported from the beginning. She started in Primary 4 at St. Jude Primary School and, with your help, went on to complete six years at Gulu High School and earned a certificate in Social Work. She now works at St. Jude Children's Home, where she conducts community outreach, including assessing whether children living at the Home can be resettled with families. This August, she will begin a weekend diploma course while continuing her work at St. Jude. Peace loves working with children with disabilities. Having suffered paralysis as a child due to an accident, she feels she can relate to them in ways others may not.