Soap for Soroti hospital

Every week we go on outreach to the prison, we viait the mothers in jail with young children (under two years of age). We felt that they were suffering and the mothers have no money to help them. We bring Akuma (flour for millet porridge), sugar and soap. We have also bought some pots, flasks and jerrycans to help the mothers. Sometimes they need medicines, we are also providing. We also visit every week the feeding centre in Soroti hospital, where they treat malnourished children. I will write about that another time.

Now I want to tell you about our outreach to the children ward in Soroti hospital. From time to time we buy a couple of boxes with bars of soap. It is the local soap (picture left), people use the soap to do their laundry, and also it is used as bathing soap. It is really agressive soap, you can get the most terrible stains out with this soap. `

We have a plan of action! You can't just stand there and give out the soap. Everybody will come and some might go with three bars and other people will get none. On the picture above, you see Simon standing in front of the door. He asks everybody to get to the bed where their child is laying. There are often two children in one bed. And very sick children, I am always sad when I come out of the children ward, there is so much suffering. When we gave out the soap, a child just died, what could we do, we gave a bar of soap and the mother was so thankful (with tears in her eyes).

Here is Esther, one of our staff, giving out the soap. There is not much time to talk, but we know that the soap is a blessing to them. All the prices have gone up, the soap is so expensive now for the people to buy. They often have to buy medicines for the treatment of their child. At times you even have to buy the syringes and the I.V. set for the drip. It is only a little that we can do, but it is an encouragement to the parents.