UCRF Luweero Team Home visit Nango at her Kakoola, Mulajje in Bamunanika Sub-county

On Friday 20.07.12, the UCRF Luweero Team home visited Nango Mary a resident of Kakoola village, Mulajje in Bamunanika Sub county which is 25km away from Luweero. Nango Mary a 17 year orphan, lost her father sometime back due to cancer and she was left under the care and support of her mother who is a widow and simple peasant farmer. Luckily, Nango got an opportunity to be supported in her education by Caritas Child sponsorship program a programme which is ran by Kasana-Luweero Diocese.

Unfortunately, Nango after completion of her S.4 final examinations got impregnated by a local Bodaboda man on the village who later abandoned her to the care and support of her peasant mother a situation which made life for her and her peasant mother too hard.

 

Members of UCRF visited Nango at her home and only to learn that she was breast feeding a four months baby girl. During the visit, Nango and her mother were counseled and informed about cancer with emphasis on breast and cervical cancer. The team went ahead to advise Nango to desist from having several sexual partners to safeguard the future of her life and the life of her baby. The team informed Nango that through having several partners one can easily contract diseases like HIV/AIDs, STDs, Cervical and Breast Cancer among others. Hence encouraging her to go for a medical checkup in order to establish her health status.

Nango was also informed that if cancer is diagnosed early and one is subsequently treated in time, there are many chances of survival.

Concluding the visit, Nango’s mother thanked the team for the care and support given to her family and also promised to continually render support and guidance to her daughter to enable her live a descent and worthy life.

In the photo is Nango carrying her baby and the one with a bicycle is her mother whom we met coming from the well colleting water for domestic use.

This report was prepared and compiled by;

Isanga Anthony

The Program Area Manager

UCRF School Cancer Program continues in in Wobulenzi

 This week on Tuesday 24.07.12, UCRF Luweero members visited Wobulenzi and Katikamu schools and here again,  delivered to the pupils and students of those schools the cancer message. The schools visited included: St. Kizito Katikamu S.S., Kika Preparatory Primary School, Wobulenzi Public and St. Joseph Katikamu Primary School.

 The team which was again led by Mr. Isanga Anthony the Area Program Manager UCRF Luweero, introduced to the pupils and students of the mentioned schools simple tips on how to handle cancer which today, is becoming a threat to our people in Uganda.

 In their message, members of UCRF Luweero told the children that Cancer can attack any part of the body and at any time and age. They are different types of cancers to include: Breast, Cervical among women, Prostate for men, Lung cancer, skin cancer among others. Because, cancer is one of the most painful and deadly diseases, there is need therefore for the young generation to establish their status early enough by accessing medical consultations and advice at the nearby health facilities.

 The sessions were interactive and involved questions and answers from both the children and the UCRF staff and were conducted outside class in open air. Children were so active and vigilant to learn more about cancer, how it attacks people and possible ways of avoiding  it. Girls were guided on how to detect breast and cervical cancer however, cautioned on not having multiple partners which can be one of the ways of contracting cervical cancer. The team also advised the children to always exercise on a daily basis, eat fruits daily at home as if they can and to avoid taking genetically modified foods when they can.

Work Continues on Cancer Awareness in Luweero!

Continuing with the distribution of scholastics and awareness campaign on cancer, our team yesterday visited two schools which are a distance of about 40km from Luweero. And the schools visited were
St. Agnes Nattyole Vocational S.S. and Luteete Senior Secondary Schools. Here again, the team met over 30 students supported by Caritas child sponsorship program to whom they managed to talk to about cancer.

In the message communicated to the students, members of UCRF who included Mr. Isanga Anthony the area program manager, Benedetti Wanyana a member and Mary Nakyaggya a member, introduced to the students what cancer is. In our introduction, we begun by asking the students if they knew anything about cancer, the types of cancer, how to contract cancer and how to avoid cancer. It was mentioned by the students that some of the cancers commonly known include: Cervical cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, skin cancer, lung cancer and cancer of the bones among others.

Students however, were ignorant about the most common cancers and how one could possibly safeguard him/herself from such cancers. As such, UCRF members dwelled mostly on three common types of cancer which include Breast and Cervical cancer among women and Prostate cancer for men. Students were informed that having multiple sexual partners could be one way of contracting cervical cancer and as such encouraged to keep safe, health and avoid such habits that could lead them to damaging their lives. As for breast cancers, girls were encouraged to be attentive to their bodily changes especially changes in their breasts and for any strange development in their breasts to quickly seek medical support and testing.

Students were also given a health package to include tips on; making physical exercises, avoiding genetically modified foods, avoiding cigarettes smoking which can easily cause lung cancer, avoiding excessive alcohol and eating well balanced foods that are rich in food nutrients to include proteins, starch, fats and vitamins.

The students were so excited to learn about cancer and thanked the UCRF team for reaching them with the cancer message and promised to carry the message home to their parents and the community members.

This message was prepared and compiled by;

Mr. Isanga Anthony

Program Area Manager (UCRF Luweero)

NB: Attached are the photos taken during the visit.

Tomorrow we shall be visiting Katikamu and Wobulenzi schools for the awareness campaign still.

It is never too early for Cancer Awareness

UCRF Member, Anthony Isanga, reports on a cancer awareness campaign in at St. Bonaventure primary school Mulajje and St. Charles S.S. Mulajje. While conducting a scholastic distribution exercise to the Caritas Sponsored students,  project staff are encouraged to provide some counseling on different issues/topics to the sponsored children. For me, and my  my colleagues Maria Nakyanja, Berna Wanyana and Jane Nalubega, this was a no brainer - we agreed that we would pass on the message of cancer to these students/pupils.

In our message to students and pupils of St. Bonaventure and St. Charles respectively, we educated them the different types of cancer to include: Cervical cancer, Breast Cancer, Skin Cancer, and Prostate cancer . Most of the children seemed ignorant about cancer and in a way, they were excited to learn something about cancer. And for the primary pupils, as we were using the work kokolo, they got so excited of the word and was smiles always and they promised to compose a play and some songs in line with cancer with assistance from Maria their teacher and also a member of UCRF. Many of the children expressed interest to go for early counseling and testing and they wanted to know where such services can be accessed.

It is therefore at this moment that I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to all my colleagues with whom we were moving for the great work done.

UCRF Luweero Branch members never miss a chance to talk about cancer!

On 10.07.12, charity called Caritas held a sensitization meeting at Kasana-Luweero with the parents of the children supported and sponsored by the charity . UCRF member, Anthony Isanga, used the  opportunity to talk to the parents  about cancer. There were  about 50 parents, both men and women, giving a large audience for the cancer message. The cancer message emphasized and also encouraged them to always keep healthy by seeking prompt medical medical consultation whenever any strange pain presents on their bodies.

We discussed about early cancer testing on especially on common cancer like breast and cervical cancer for women and prostate cancer in men thus, encouraging them to act as ambassadors to the rest of the family members back at home and the communities they were coming from.

Photos taken during this meeting are attached.

Anthony is a pineapple farmer. He has also decided to carry home the cancer message to his fellow farmers. This means that he can do UCRF work even when he is raising funds to help himself. Here, he is shown in his garden in Kikyusa on Friday 6.07.12 for pineapple harvesting. He talked to his friends and farm mates about cancer and how they could safeguard themselves from cancer  to the farmers I got there as they were assisting me to harvest my pineapples.

UCRF Cancer Outreach Schools in Nakaseke District

 One of the Uganda Cancer Research Foundation, Luweero strategic approaches this year is to reach to as many schools and rural communities as possible to deliver the message of Cancer, create early awareness of cancer prevalence and also to encourage people to test early as to establish their status. This is why any opportunity that comes our way, UCRF Luweero profits by it to communicate to people what is all about cancer. Only then, shall we save the future of Uganda from cancer especially when it can be prevented.

In line with the strategic approach of reaching out to schools, Isanga Anthony the UCRF Luweero Program Manager profited by this to create awareness once again to a school in Nakaseke District which is approximately 49km from Luweero on Tuesday 19.06.2012. The school is St. Kizito Primary School Lwetunga. I had been asked to take a visitor to the diocese by the names of Laner from Australia who works with Pontifical Missionary Society for the Children. As the visitor was going around the school premises for a school tour, I took the opportunity to communicate to the pupils about cancer using very simple tips that these children could easily understand, asking them if they knew what cancer is or what they understand by the term Kokolo (Cancer). Part of the message was that cancer is deadly just as HIV/AIDs is however, if cancer is discovered early enough the patient seeks early medical attention, then the likelihoods for survival are high. I also encouraged these pupils to always be attentive to their bodily pains and always report to the medical experts any strange bodily pains in time.

One challenge I learnt is that there is no nearby health centre in Lwetunga which makes it hard for a child in such area to seek quick medical attention.

Attached are some of the photos I took with the children of St. Kizito Primary School, Lwetunga.

 

UCRF Luweero Focuses Cancer Message on Young Children

Greetings from UCRF Luweero.
 

Last week on from the 14th-16th June 2012 UCRF Luweero members, Mr. Anthony Isanga and Juliet Nankumba, attended a working for Caritas Kasanaensis Child Sponsorship Program in Kampala at Mazzoldi House. During the workshop, they visited a school in Mukono at a place called Malongwe called St. John Nepomuk Primary School, Kitula. Malongwe is 40 km away from Mukono Town, about 100 km from Luweero altogether. The visit was intended to see some of the fruits of Caritas Prague Child Sponsorship Program a project operating in the Kasana-Luweero, Gulu, Nebbi and Kampala Diocese and supported by the Czech Republic.
 

Members took the opportunity to talk to the teachers and pupils of the school about cancer .
They educated the pupils and also sensitized them on some of the simple tips of safeguarding them from Cancer to include hygiene, avoiding genetically modified foods etc.

We also communicated to the children how Cancer affects everyone – the young and old, the rich and poor, men, women and children – and represents a tremendous burden on patients, families and societies. Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the world.

While the children are still young, we know that in Uganda, children bear a large burden of cancer (more than 50% of the Ugandan population is composed of children).  Secondly, we also thought that a stitch in time  saves you ten - so we decided to lay the foundation for future generations.

We share our pictures with you.