My name is Lauren Burton and I am a final year medical student at Aberdeen University. In January 2025 I had the opportunity to go and spend 4 weeks at Kiwoko Hospital in Uganda with a fellow medical student as part of my elective. I am extremely grateful for the support from MMN and I can truly say that it was only by Gods provision that I discovered MMN even existed. Through their generosity I was able to go out to Uganda and not grow and develop my medical skills but also spend 4 weeks with the local community who displayed Christ’s love so clearly.

Kiwoko Hospital is a community-based hospital in the rural Luwero region of Uganda. They receive support and grants from many organisations and have their own charity- ‘friends of Kiwoko’ who are heavily involved in fundraising for the hospital. The hospital provides healthcare for patients at a substantially lower price than alternative hospitals in the country. Therefore, patients travel far and wide to come for assessment. The hospital has a Christian outlook and ethos with its motto being ‘We treat… Jesus heals’.

A typical day would start with morning prayer, praise and devotions in the hospital chapel at 8am. This was often my favourite part of the day. Spending time with fellow staff members praising our saviour and committing our day ahead to Him allowed us to centre ourselves on Christ before we went off into our roles for the day. I soon became accustomed to this daily hour of praise and listening to the Word- it is something I miss now I am back home. Along with some of the other medical students on elective, we were able to get involved in leading worship during some of the morning devotionals.

After morning devotions, we would attend the doctors’ meetings from 9-10am and then go to our allocated wards and assist in the ward round for the rest of the morning. The afternoons were often spent chasing up any investigations and seeing new admissions. During the four weeks I spent at Kiwoko I rotated around various wards which included: Paediatrics, medical ward, surgical ward, outpatients and the NICU department. During my placement I encountered patients with a wide range of presentations that aren’t commonly seen in the UK. Many of these presentations were often examples of late-stage disease which made treatment difficult.

One of the things that struck me the most was witnessing the financial difficulty that some patients experienced. Despite the hospital providing reduced costs for patients there were still several people who struggled to pay for the admissions and treatment they required. Being a small community hospital there was a ceiling of care that Kiwoko hospital could offer, and it was heart breaking to see the financial implications for those who were so sick that they needed to be transferred to a facility with greater resources. There were instances in which by the time the patient’s family had collected the money needed to admit the patient to a different hospital for ITU care, it was unfortunately too late. I often reflected on how different those situations would be if the patient was cared for in the UK with the resources we have. However, I kept reminding myself that we believe in a gracious God who cares for us and we are to do the best with the resources we have available. I know that all the patients I saw in Kiwoko were dearly loved by God and I hope that they were able to catch a glimpse of that love through all the staff that were involved in their care. I know I certainly saw the love of Christ shine through the nurses who were working there.

During the first week I was in Uganda, the hospital opened a new theatre that they had been building. It was a great time of rejoicing for all the staff and was great to see the excitement they had for all the patients that would be able to benefit from these new theatres. We spent time one morning dedicating the theatre to the Lord and praying that He would use it for His will. Witnessing how the staff were able to incorporate their faith into all the decisions they made and the events that occurred within the hospital was a huge encouragement to my personal faith. It challenged me to think about how I can include Christ in my day to day when back on placement in the UK.

At the weekends we had the opportunity to go to the local churches with some of the staff members from Kiwoko. We also spent one afternoon with the hospitals prison ministry team where we visited one of the local prisons and were able to run a church service in the prison for the inmates. I was quite nervous before going to the prison, but once there it was just so amazing to see Gods goodness on display. There were over 50 inmates that attended the service, and we all spent time together worshipping our saviour and listening to the word. We were able to pray for those that had court hearings in the next coming days and pray for those who were sick. Unfortunately we were told that many people end up in Prison in Uganda because they are unable to pay their medical bills. It was so evident that through this outreach programme many lives were being touched and people who may never have heard about Christ were getting that opportunity and accepting Jesus into their hearts.

Overall, the time I spent in Uganda was one of the best few weeks of my medical education. Being able to witness the challenges that the team out in Kiwoko face daily and learn how they adapt to a resource poor setting was invaluable. However, what will resonate with me the most is how the people out there loved Jesus. No matter their circumstances they praised God and gave him the glory for all he has done. I learnt to be thankful simply for the breath in my lungs that my creator God has gifted me. We believe in a good and gracious God who is making all things work together for his good. The fact that he entrusts me to play just a tiny part in that is an immense privilege. I have returned to the UK spiritually renewed with an expectant heart ready to try and show Gods love in whatever way I can when working as a foundation doctor in the NHS next year. I am unsure what path my career will take, but please pray that I will continue to listen to Gods guidance for my life and that each day I would work not for man but to bring glory to God. I also ask that you continue to pray for Kiwoko hospital- the staff, their resources and the patients that they engage with. Thank you for your support.