History of the HEAL Program - Amazing Story!


(Written by Generous) 

I could not believe it when I received an email from Sue Waechter that one of the best friends of ACT, a donor, Melanie Nelson offered to sponsor me for a trip to Santiago, Chile to attain a training in public health!

It was real. Arrangements started; there is no Chilean Embassy in Uganda. I had to travel to Kenya to get a visa from the Chilean Embassy and it was the crossover night of 2013 to 2014. I boarded the bus from Kampala City at midnight while fireworks were all over in celebration of entering into a new year.

And, because it was the big days of New Year holidays, visa processing delayed and I spent 7 days in Kenya waiting. I almost gave up but my husband, Richard, encouraged me on the phone to stay as he had taken a leave from work to be in care of our children. Also, one of the Kenyan women, Grace Mose, who was also going to Chile for the training offered me accommodation in her house because I could not manage the costs of the hotels in Kenya! Finally, I got an emergency visa not the usual visa as the time of travel was running out. 

On return to Uganda, it was 2 days to leave for Chile, and then I left. the experience I got through my travel right from Entebbe Airport in Uganda to Amsterdam, Panama then to Chile, staying there and returning to Uganda through Paris, France was amazing. Language barrier was a challenge BUT fun!

While in Chile, we visited a number of places, central and southern coast of the ocean among others. I got a chance to step in the ocean and taste its water - it tasted salty. I enjoyed all the activities on each day of training because every session included games and fun, visited public hospitals, markets and some workshops where on one of the gathers, I met Sue Waechter's stepbrother and we interacted in English! Not like other times I needed a translator from Spanish to English


Karen Anderson, Founder of EPES, Back Row, fourth from the right

Generous, Far left

EPES (Educacion Popular En Salud) for popular education in health is deeply involved in offering emergency relief and programs to provide sustained psychosocial support to the communities. 

Its Vision is "That all of God's people and creation share in God's abundant life." Its Mision is "To receive and share the Good News of Jesus Christ by joining with global and local partners to work for justice, reconciliation, and peace."

The course I attended was about Women Empowerment and Equity, and general public health. When I returned, soon we had a team from Michigan that joined me to train Health Promotion Workers (HPWs) and implemented the program in Muko Sub County. We start with Community needs assessments in the villages and held dialogues with community members; men, women and children. We have been able to educate the pbulic even when COVID hit the world.

When health dialogues were not able to take place because we could not hold physical gatherings, we turned to radio as a mode of communication to provide health education on COVID 19. For many in Muko, FM radio is the only source for news and information. ACT HEAL staff also conducted radio programs about gender-based domestic violence and coping with mental health issues during the difficult lockdown times.


HEAL is served by about two dozen Health Promotions Workers who volunteer their time to lead discussion in rural communities of Muko.

A three-day training workshop for these Health Promotion Workers took place in Muko High School October 20-22, 2021. This was a great opportunity to test out the accessibility of our new Resource Guide with the volunteers (among which about one-third are illiterate) and provide some essential public health training. Robin Stottlemyer, ACT US HEAL Team Leader, provided more knowledge on the topics that were covered in this workshop. 


HEAL Training at Muko High School

Team building games that show the benefits of working as a team also took place. This encourages productivity, morale, motivation, leadership as well as increasing confidence, self-esteem and self-expression. It improves mental health and uncover hidden talents. Also helps people work together across age and gender, and brings everyone together. Everyone becomes a winner.


Games during the training



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Comments

  1. AnonymousJuly 9, 2023 at 1:48 PM

    Satisfactory information about the HEAL Program.

    ReplyDelete

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