We need your help to build Healthcare Centre at Onura sub Village Sudan!
Lofiriha is a war raged rural community located in Magwi County Sudan. The community has been devastated by civil conflicts until 2005 when peace was signed. Over 10,000 people have been forced to leave their homes and the community development was brought to a virtual halt. There is no infrastructure developed and lack of security in the past years has made it impossible for the local inhabitants to return and rebuild.
This community has no feeder road, healthcare post, a school on permanent structures, and no access to clean drinking water. Lofiriha people are neither ethnic Acholi nor Latuka. For political reason they were annexed to Magwi county during the colonial era. The Acholis and Madis are the biggest tribes while Lofiriha are the most marginalized ethnic people in the county and in southern Sudan.
The development of Lofiriha society critically depends on “HOPE OFIRIHA” to address the immediate needs and the challenges since there are no international NGOs working in the entire Lofiriha rural areas.
Project title: Loheru health facility building project – Sudan.
Project aims
To construct healthcare centre to provide a clean environment and basic healthcare services for the patients, in particular women suffering from fistula. This Centre will include a 20 – bed ward, a maternity unit, educational and administrative facilities, as well as other essential facilities. This facility will be built adjacent to local existing Loheru health post clinic and will offer a discrete entrance for fistula patients and women at high risk of obstructed labor.
Project Duration
It takes 3 – to – 4 months to complete as funding becomes available.
Construction Budget
USD 150,000.
What are the problems?
The local villagers have difficulties explaining their illness clearly, In Lofiriha community the majority of villagers are uneducated and cannot read either in Arabic or English. It is very difficult for the villagers to explain properly what kind of sickness they have to the medical staffs when they go to Magwi health centre, or to Torit hospital. The reason is that villagers can only speak LOFIRIHA dialect, a language of its own, which makes it difficult for them to get good treatment in these health facilities. The medical staffs treat these people very irresponsible because they do not understand the villagers’ dialect.
Risks for pregnant women and infants, According to the village medical Assistant on average three to four infants are dead upon delivery and about 15 women dies due to childbirth (fistula) each year in the community. The reasons are that the local health facility is poorly equipped. The distance to Magwi health centre which is 35 km away, and poor living conditions are other additional factors which contributing to death cases.
Expense, when the villagers go to the big hospitals in town they always have to pay £50 as a registration fee for getting treatment and even buying medicines no matter if the medicines cost £200 or more. If the villagers want to see the experts, they have to pay £60 registration fee. And also the villagers have to spend £160 round trip fares on motorcycle from Lofiriha community to the Magwi town. One common thing is that most big hospitals usually have the same problem, which is they want more money from the poor villagers – in this case doctors make the village patients take irrelevant examinations and prescribe expensive but unnecessary medicine in order to get more profits.
Waste, if the villagers go to the big hospitals in the towns they need to spend at least 2 days just going to Magwi healthcare centre and 4 days just going to Torit hospital footing. This is a waste of valuable time, which could be saved if the community has a more adequate health centre to cater for its medical needs.
What are the Benefits of the project?
Easy to communicate with the doctor, if there is well equipped health centre in the community it is much easier for the villagers to explain what kind of sickness they have and what kind of medicines they need because they can speak in LOFIRIHA dialect to medical officials since they will be from the same community. In case the medical staffs are from elsewhere translators from within will always assist.
Reduce the risk rate for pregnant women, if there health centre is in good condition in the community then pregnant women and their babies will face few risks. The health centre would have a better patient beds and sufficient medicines.
Save money, if the health centre is stock with modern equipments in the community – then local villagers do not need to spend much money on transportation cost to far away hospital. As discussed the town hospitals takes advantage of countryside patients by selling them unnecessary medicines and giving irrelevant tests. The travel and hospital registration costs alone total about £220, which should be enough to purchase medicine locally in a new and improved health centre.
Save time, if the health centre can provide good services in the community, then villagers do not need to waste time going to Magwi health centre and/or to Torit hospital. Travel to and from usually takes 6/8 days since most move on foot. Very few can afford to hire motorcycle (Bodaboda). We estimate that most patients need to spend to 2/4 days in Magwi healthcare centre and at Torit hospital even if the sickness is very serious and life threatening before they get medical attention.
Gender equality, firstly, an improved health centre will make it safer for pregnant women, girls, whose health and chances of uncomplicated deliveries will improve. Most women will not have to make journeys to far away health centre clinics, and hospitals, which can jeopardize a pregnancy thus reducing the chances from suffering fistula.
Provided by the community:
30,000 soil block bricks
16 River sand – 3 ton Lorry
We need to raise funds for building materials, and if you can help – please click here to donate via paypal donation button.
Monitoring and Evaluation:
All activities shall be monitored and evaluated by HOPE OFIRIHA, Lofiriha Traditional Authorities, and Magwi County local government.
This project is designed to produce maximum results. The vast majority of the money will be used for building supplies, and equipments, together with training and monitoring. The local costs are kept to a minimum. Healthcare staffs will be chosen on the basis of their ability and a real passion for improving the healthcare services in the community. We are confident that this project in Onura sub village – Sudan will have major and long-lasting benefits for the entire rural Lofiriha Buma (community) – and that it will make a major contribution to poverty reduction.
Contact Us:
Please contact HOPE Ofiriha by clicking here if you would like to fund this project or if you would like further information.
This project constructs a healthcare centre to provide a clean environment and basic healthcare services at Onura sub village in Omilling Boma. We need your charitable donations to purchase the building materials to start building. To learn more about this project click proposal 