Health Unit

Setting Up a health unit

Health unit is an essential facility where health services are delivered. It should be noted that traditionally, the indigenous batwa used to depend on natural herbs which they used to get from the forest which was their home. n 1991, when they were forcefully evicted, they lost every thing which was so resourceful to them, their herbal medicine was also lost. When they left the forest, it was gazzeted as a protected National Park, todate, this area is guarded by protection game rangers, entering this forest has many negative consequences to the people who once lived there, you are either shot or arrested and charged in courts of law for illegal entry and possestion of wild life products.

Challenges Faced By The Batwa in public hospitals

This has forced the indigenous Batwa to seek medical services from the public hospitals. The nearest health unit where the indigenous Batwa go to when they are sick is Nyarusiza health centre III which is 5KMS from the Batwa Community. It should be noted that when some Batwa go for medical services, they are discriminated against or some times are sent to go and buy drugs from private health providers whereby those who do not have money go back home and wait for Gods mercy to prevail upon him or her.
The Batwa also lack emergency transport means of taking sick patients to the hospitals especially pregnant mothers and some end up developing miscarriages and maternal death due to the fact that they still use local ambulances of carrying the sick on their shoulders which takes a lot of time and energy and is unconfortable. This is because they lack the capacity to pay for quicker means such as motorcycles and cars that are used by their neighbors

Carrying Out A Medical Camp

In December 2019, we had a chance to conduct a medical camp in partnership with Call to Africa Mission and Africa for Jesus where close to 450 people got free medication. We plan to have a health unit nearby this community which is even densely populated where both batwa and non batwa can access medical services quickly and easily and by doing this we shall be saving lives. We only need God in Our Midst.