#GIVINGNEWS
Lore Declercq and NUV HOP made a difference! By Lore Declercq (KLASS 2008 - 2011) Back in 2019, alumna Lore Declercq was given an opportunity to work with the Northern Uganda Village Health Outreach Project (NUV-HOP). In support of NUV-HOP, the Alice Smith School contributed ¤200 to help improve the local health care by providing medication and educating the local communities in and around Gulu. Recently, KLASSics reconnected with Lore to find out the development of the outreach programme and the impact they had made. After having spent an entire year organising fundraisers together with my fellow NUV HOP participants, I boarded a plane to Entebbe, Uganda early August 2019. After an 8 hour flight and a 10 hour drive to Gulu, I finally arrived at my host family who had been waiting eagerly to welcome me into their home. Mama Susan hugged me just as tightly as my mum back home did saying goodbye at the airport. She lifted my 20kg suitcase onto her head and carried it inside. Although past 10pm, a delicious 5 dish meal was waiting for me and I had my first dinner with the other family members. I couldn’t have imagined a warmer welcome. The next four weeks were filled with outreaches and health talks in small, remote villages around Gulu. Upon arrival by bus, the first patients were often waiting outside already. During the outreaches, patients received a free consultation with a local doctor and if necessary a lab test and the adequate medication. As a result of the organised efforts of not only the Belgian team but also the Ugandan team and the team from Manchester, we managed to help up to 1200 patients a day this year. It is the organisation and medication of these outreaches for which the bulk of the money raised was used.
22
