Such is the story of Kristina Health Center patient number 1,000.

Following the formal dedication on August 25, 2012 in Awake village, Uganda, Kristina Health Center opened its doors to the community and began treating patients on October 1, 2012. Julius Achon’s dream— bringing local healthcare for the first time to thousands in Awake village, and beyond to the wider Otuke District in Northern Uganda—was realized. Named after Julius’ mother, Kristina, killed in Awake in 2004 by rebels from the Lord’s Resistance Army, KHC is providing essential and life saving healthcare to the surrounding community. As the month of December opens, over 1,000 patients have been seen and treated. Prior to the clinic opening, patients were required to travel, in the best of cases, four miles—and frequently more than forty—for the treatment required.

Kristina Health Center consists of a ten-room clinic, with consultation and treatment rooms, a laboratory, pharmacy, office, lobby and shaded veranda. Clean water is obtained on the KHC campus via a deep bore-hole well, electricity is available via solar power and KHC is furnished, including essential medical equipment, supplies and medicines. A medical staff of five, living on campus in an adjacent four-unit living quarters, sees patients Monday through Friday, and on an emergency basis over the weekend. The all-Ugandan medical staff consists of a clinic manager, senior medical clinical officer, two comprehensive nurses (RN’s), and a laboratory technician/HIV counselor.

Patients begin arriving at dawn, and sometimes the night before, and are seen on a first-come first-served basis, with the exception of triaged emergency treatments. Patients traveling (on foot or bicycle) up to 20 kilometers for treatment are not uncommon. Local Otuke District healthcare workers have utilized KHC for adult blood testing and childhood inoculations. Thanks to Rotary International, vaccines requiring refrigeration are available for inoculation due to the only refrigerator/freezer in the local healthcare network, which is powered by the clinic’s solar power system.

Patients are charged a nominal fee for consultation, and medicines are provided at cost, plus a small markup. Patients unable to pay are not turned away, but treated and required to clear their balance before returning for treatment. Self-sustainability is the goal for Kristina Health Center; this may take a period of years. During the interim, funds will be provided from the USA and Australia to maintain KHC operations.

Please help us meet the needs of patients like Monica, and the thousands of others who will follow her through our doors in the coming months.

Kristina Health Center (KHC) consists of a ten room clinic, with consultation and treatment rooms, a laboratory, pharmacy, office, lobby and shaded veranda. Clean water is obtained on the KHC campus via a deep bore-hole well, electricity is available via solar power and KHC is furnished with essential medical equipment, supplies and medicines. A medical staff of five, living on campus in an adjacent living quarters, sees patients Monday through Friday, and on an emergency basis over the weekend. KHC provides primary medical care including triage and appropriate treatment, disease testing, inoculation, medication dispensing and education. The all-Ugandan staff is comprised of clinic manager, senior clinical officer, comprehensive nurses (2) and laboratory technician/HIV counselor. We anticipate in the future US and Australian based doctors, dentists and nurses will visit for both short and extended periods assisting the local staff

Patients begin arriving at dawn, and sometimes the night before, and are seen on a first-come first-served basis, with the exception of emergency patients. Patients traveling (on foot or bicycle) up to 20 kilometers for treatment are not uncommon. Local Otuke District healthcare officials have utilized KHC for blood testing and inoculations. Vaccines requiring refrigeration are available for inoculation due to the only refrigerator/freezer in the district healthcare network.

Patients are charged a nominal fee for consultation, and medicines are provided at cost, plus a small markup. Patients unable to pay are not turned away, but treated and required to clear their balance before returning for treatment. In addition to the normal Ugandan Shilling payment, recent patient payments have included a live chicken and harvested crops – which the staff used for food. Self-sustainability is the goal for KHC; this may take a period of years. During the interim, funds to balance the budget will be provided by Achon Uganda Children’s Fund and, its sister organization, Love Mercy based in Australia.

We thank you, our generous donors, for making Kristina Health Center a reality.

Julius Achon’s dream – bringing healthcare for the first time to thousands in Awake village and beyond was realized. Named after Julius’ mother, Kristina, killed in Awake in 2004 by LRA rebels, KHC will provide essential and life saving healthcare to the community. (note: The health center concept was formally launched in January 2010; construction commenced in April, 2011; the total cost of the project, thus far, is $185,000. Kristina Health Center was 100% built by the hands of villagers and local tradespersons.)

Over three thousand people, many walking several miles to the health center campus, attended the dedication. The singing, dancing, speeches and atmosphere were joyous. The local crowd was joined by a team of 27 from America and Australia who had worked diligently the past two years to raise the funds needed to help bring Julius’ dream to reality. Julius spoke to the crowd “to not let the death of his mother Kristina be in vain, but be the seed to become a flower for the community”. Together with the Honorable Achieng Sarah Opendi, Uganda Minister of Primary Health Care, Julius cut the ceremonial ribbon and Kristina Health Center was declared open. Minister Achieng spoke eloquently of the shining example of one barefoot village boy, abducted at the age of 12 as a child soldier, later to become a celebrated Ugandan Olympic runner, then returning to his village to help. She urged the youth in attendance to follow the example set by Julius and, as he preaches daily, “never give up”.

Before the dedication ribbon was even cut, local healthcare workers provided blood testing for adults and inoculations to children of the community in the health center. Vaccines for inoculations were available due to the first ever solar power in Awake powering the only refrigerator/freezer in the local healthcare network. Full health center operations will commence October 1 as the newly hired Ugandan medical staff relocate to the Kristina living quarters and a shipment of medicines and supplies is delivered.

On November 9, 2012, Julius Achon again returned to his former primary school, Orum Primary in Orum, Uganda, where he and a group of Portland-based Nike volunteers hosted the 2^nd annual Nike sponsored Julius Achon cross country meet. As in 2011, the event was a huge success; this year’s crowd even larger than last. Competitors, teachers, school officials and families walking miles each way to attend the Achon Run were treated to 7 races (3 boys, 3 girls, and an open race for all members of the community) with 21 schools represented and a total of 1,500 runners. Each runner received a custom Nike Dri-fit shirt designed for the event, with trophies and prizes (useful items like plates and utensils) awarded to the top three finishers in each race.  Julius, his former high school coach Chris Mugisha, and Nike representatives Risha Kelley, Simi Adeagbo, and Brandon Workman organized and conducted the event. The total crowd, including spectators, was estimated at over 6,000! Like 2011, 1,000 kilos of beans and 1,000 kilos of rice were cooked in enormous kettles and everyone was fed.  Julius notes that the goal of the run, the only one of its kind in the 20+ years since civil war broke out in the North in 1988, is to inspire children in the area and encourage them to continue in sports, and hopefully produce the next Julius Achon from this war-torn region.

AUCF Benefit Concert will take place Friday, August 10, 2012 at the Arista Ballroom in Portland, Oregon.

Portland, OR- Tom Grant, Andrew Gorny, Kristen Hewitt, In Good Company, Alex Taimanao, and Travis Stine present the Achon Uganda Children’s Fund Benefit Concert, taking place on Friday, August 10, 2012, at the beautifully renovated Arista Ballroom in Portland, Oregon’s Hawthorne District. The Arista was built in the 1920s and features beautiful, pre-war architecture and a Greco-Roman ballroom.

Ticket price is $40.00, and includes entry to the event, seating, entertainment, and a cuisine which includes chilled garlic encrusted roast beef, artichoke spinach dip with rustic breads, granite cliffs of crisp farm vegetables, marble waterfall of fruits and berries, and more. Drinks will be available for purchase.

Purchase tickets at www.aucfconcert.com.

This first-ever benefit concert will raise money to build the only medical clinic within 42 miles of Olympian Julius Achon’s home village of Awake in northern Uganda. Achon will appear as a special guest and share his personal journey from Ugandan child soldier to two-time Olympian to humanitarian.

ABOUT THE MUSICIANS

Enjoy a combination of tunes that you’ll recognize, thoughtful original pieces, and dynamic collaborations from six artists.

Our featured musician, Tom Grant, is a “master pianist, and accomplished singer and songwriter… He’s been on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno and had four Number One albums on Adult Contemporary and Smooth Jazz charts. A polished entertainer, Tom has touched listeners worldwide.”

Andrew Gorny is a skillful solo guitarist, with an innovative and undeniably unique sound , who recently opened for Andy McKee at Portland’s own, Aladdin Theater.

Kristen Hewitt is a pianist, vocalist, songwriter, and composer, whose works have been used in various projects. She has a simple, yet compelling style of songwriting and composition.

In Good Company is comprised of brothers Chris and Brandon Mai, talented singers, pianists, guitarists, and songwriters. Their collaborative originals resonate long after the music stops.

Alex Taimanao and Travis Stine captivate audiences with everything from smooth, laid-back, acoustic sounds, to hip-hop and pop.

Also, have the privilege of hearing Julius Achon, inspirational speaker and founder of the Achon Uganda Children’s Fund, give his personal testimony and educate you about dire situations faced by the residents of his home village, Awake.

CONTACT

AUCF Concert Organizers

Tim Schneider
tim-schneider@live.com
608-792-4133

Kristen Hewitt
kristen.m.hewitt@gmail.com
503-680-9298

Please visit the event webpage at www.aucfconcert.com for more information about the cause, concert, and tickets!

Awake villagers await the formal dedication of Kristina Health Center on August 25, 2012. Consisting of two buildings – a 10 room clinic and 4 unit living quarters, final preparations are in progress to complete the facility, bringing local healthcare for the first time to thousands. Uganda national leaders and Otuke district officials have been invited to witness this historic event, which began with a dream by former Uganda Olympic runner Julius Achon as a result of the death of his mother Kristina – killed in 2004 during a Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebel attack. Julius subsequently founded Achon Uganda Children’s Fund (AUCF) which undertook the Kristina project in 2010.

In recent months latrines have been completed, living quarter furnishings delivered, equipment ordered and solar power installation underway. Jimmy Okullo, Julius’ brother and AUCF Uganda Operations Manager is overseeing the remaining tasks – purchase of supplies, medications and staff hiring during the next six weeks prior to the Kristina Health Center’s dedication.

The opening of KHC would not be possible without the generous contributions of our many supporters and donors. Julius and the entire AUCF are ever grateful for your financial support.

Please let us know what you think in the Comments below, and come see Kristina Health Center if your future travel plans bring you to Uganda!

Each runner received a custom Nike Dri-fit shirt designed for the event, with trophies and prizes (useful items like plates and utensils) awarded to the top three finishers in each race.  Julius, his former high school coach Chris Mugisha, and Nike  representatives Chris and Erin Cook, Tim Schneider and Mark Lane organized and conducted the event.  Julius and Chris estimated the total crowd, including spectators, at 6,000! Fortunately 1,000 kilos of beans and 1,000 kilos of rice were purchased the week prior and everyone was fed.  Julius notes that the goal of the run, the first of its kind in the 20+ years since civil war broke out in the North, is to inspire children in the area and encourage them to continue in sports, to produce the next generation of Julius Achons from this war-torn region.