Local parish helps surgical clinics in Uganda thrive
It was 10 years ago that Our Lady of the Wayside parish in Arlington Heights helped send Deacon Don Grossnickle to visit and serve as a mission deacon in Uganda, East Africa.
The grass-roots mission work started by helping one Uganda maternity clinic that was facing bankruptcy. For 30 years one nurse midwife, Teo, had operated the village clinic, but her generosity as a "good Samaritan" was too generous, giving away excessive free care to the poor.
Grossnickle asked parishioners and other local church communities to help. Soon her clinic was fully open and serving double the number of those she formerly could help.
For the next years, Deacon Don's work continued in the Nakifuma village with nurse Teo, helping to equip the clinic with modern lifesaving technology. Later, a team of volunteers raised $25,000 toward remodeling and equipping a surgery center.
Today, thanks to U.S. friends, more than 100 impoverished patients each day receive free or reduced care. The funding to help St. Jude clinic comes from the profits of two small, sustainable, income-producing farms.
These microfinanced businesses were started by U.S. friends. All of these projects together have revitalized the clinic management so the staff can keep the doors open and resist turning away patients in need of urgent care.
After five years of helping one clinic, the group of volunteers aspired to keep bringing success to other financially struggling clinics asking for help. According to Grossnickle, it takes $5,000 to start a small, income-producing farm that can spark clinic finances and grow the community to become independent.
This upstart mission "movement" now is expanding all over Uganda's vast land of over 50 million people. The mission is dedicated to helping clinics expand. Now, after 10 years, the Microfinance Alliance Africa Projects Foundation, a 501c3 charity, comes to clinics bringing the same kind of prosperity to many villages.
In all, the MAAP Foundation, since 2013, has started 33 agribusiness farms connected to over 75 projects. In 2024 they plan to implement about 10 village clinic grant projects.
The program depends on private donations, such as from Our Lady of the Wayside School students, who generously adopted two projects helping Uganda girls stay in school.
To read more about the volunteers and their work, visit www.MAAPFoundation.org.