Get the teenagers talking !

LETS GET THE TEENAGERS TALKING:  Impact Through Peers   

'More than 85% of adolescents in Mbarara municipality (Uganda) get their health related information from peers'. (MUST pediatrician, D. Nansera (BMJ 2007 )
A community based organization, HEADA Uganda, has been voluntarily giving health talks  to  adolescents in four secondary schools in Mbarara Municipality.  The enthusiastic response from students and teachers to these talks, coupled with recent events in Mbarara resulting from bullying, lead to design of the Impact Through Peers project. 


 This project will work with 6 secondary schools and train 6 Peer Group Trainers to work with the students. The students will be supported as they work with their peers and discuss different topics every month.  Topics will include: Life Skills I & II, Reproductive health I,II & III, Sexuality, Career Planning I & II, Gender, Leadership skills, Environmental Issues and Stigma/Bullying

At the end of  the twelve sessions, an exhibition will be organized with presentations from students to spread information on peer groups and engage the  whole school population. 

The Hillman Medical Education Fund of Rose Charities has provided the funding  funding for  "IMPACT THROUGH PEERS "  Project in Uganda 

Sopheaps new leg !

Sopheap is a 44 year old grandmother living in a very basic house with just one room, and two outside walls. The other two walls are tarps. The wind and rain belted down for about 20 minutes while we were visiting, which was an experience in itself. Such limited shelter in those conditions. She has diabetes, a common condition in Cambodia, and as a result had her leg amputated last year. By the time Sopheap was referred to us, she was very weak and did not have enough strength to move around, or stand on one leg. She was not suitable to be fitted with a prosthesis until she had enough strength.

Sokny worked with Sopheap and she practiced her exercises regularly at home, developing her strength. This month, we took her to Veteran’s International (VI) who assessed her and cast her for a prosthesis. Last week she was fitted with it. We followed her up at home yesterday to assess her progress and work on gait re-training. She has only had one fitting, and will need some adaptions made at her next VI appointment, but she is already doing extremely well!! She is very happy, saying she is now able to move around the village and visit her friends. She is looking forward to learning how to walk without the crutches. Great work Sopheap!!                              Joanna Thomson. Rose Cambodia Rehab Centre.

Haiti team gears up for new teaching initiative

Prof Karen Schafer teaching

The third Rose Charities Haiti  course in neonatal care is now on track to depart November 7th 2011.  Nursing Professor Karen Schafer from Vancouver and Dr's Campbell (Toronto) and Piuze (Quebec) have invited nurses and doctors from s hospitals in Port au Prince to attend .

Scenes from the August 2011 Rose Charities New Zealand / Nellie Tier Auckland Fundraiser

Chairperson Trish Gribben introduces Rose Charities NZ Trustees (left to right) Mike Webber, Pip Neville-Barton, Jane Midgley and John Veale

Sparkling rose wine and a picture of patients waiting at Lumbini Eye Institute, Nepal, set the scene for the fundraiser held in Auckland on August 14.

Rose Charities NZ chairperson Trish Gribben with Patron Lady June Hillary and volunteer Rosemary Hassan at the fund-raising screening  of the documentary, "Out of the Darkness" , about a remote surgical eye camp in Nepal

Strategic planning workshop to upgrade Rose Charities Canada board.

Facilitated by Consultant Gordon Therriault, a two day strategic planning workshop was held the members of the Rose Charities main board in the offices of Vanderluit and Co (Accountants).  The costs and premises for the workshop were generously donated by Vanderluit (Eric Vanderluit - Hon Treasurer of Rose Charities) so no funds were used from Rose Charities projects funds.  The initiative had been formulated by Maggie Francis (Chair) and Eric.

The workshop covered such aspects as task distribution, organization promotion, setting goals, structuring implementation, fund-raising,  etc.   All directors were in agreement that it was a highly productive and should help Rose Charities Canada be more structured, effective and efficient in the future.

Vanderluit and Associates meeting room workshop venue.  Left to Right.  Tim Maguire, Gordon Thierrault, Eric Vanderluit. .     (Top picutre.  L to R, Josephien de Freitas, Tim Magire, Gordon Thierrault, Will Grut, Maggie Francis.

Rose Sri Lanka Microcredit joins hands with Kalmunai Commercial Bank to expand program

Rose Micro Credit members of various villages in Ampara district have the opportunity to apply for loans of more than SLRs. 200,000.00 from the Micro Financing of Commercial Bank in Kalmunai.
In order to;
• Promotes small time businesses
• Assists with daily financing
in the area Commercial Bank in Kalmunai joint hands with Rose Micro Credit to assist members of Rose Micro Credit. The Commercial Bank selects members with limited capital who require an infusion of funds daily or every other day. They define these members as Small time Businessmen and women. The Commercial Bank in Kalmunai assists such persons with micro-financing at very low rates of interest.
By a cautious process, qualified Rose Micro Credit members have been selected and recommended for their loans from the Bank. As of to date 54 members (10 males and 44 females) have been qualified and have received their loans.
A sum of SLRs. 10,025,000.00 has been dispersed to Rose Micro Credit Members by The Commercial Bank in Kalmunai.

Research on Health Promoting Schools: Uganda

Research on Health Promoting Schools

The most recent research article evaluating the Brighter Smiles program has been published by The International Journal of Family Medicine. Canadian medical trainees cited their involvement in delivering the school-based program and ability to effect significant and positive change in both the participating children and the community as reasons why they were more willing at graduation to consider practice in rural areas or a global health context.
Macnab A, Kasangaki A, Gagnon F. Health promoting schools provide Community-Based Learning Opportunities Conducive to Careers in Rural Practice. Int J Fam Med 2011 Article ID 892518