Monday 28 August – Part 2
Around mid morning we set off for the Ministries, to meet the Minister of State for Disability and Elderly Affairs (Hon SK Madada) and the Minister for State for General Duties at the Ministry of Health (Dr Richard Nduhura).
The meeting with the Minister for Disability and Elderly Affairs was very constructive and went beyond the usual courtesy visit. It was agreed that Sightsavers should sign an MOU with the ministry to cover CBR activities.
In Uganda we work closely with the government in CBR, rather than relying on faith groups as we currently do in Ghana. We have MOUs with local government, but Ben Male was very keen to formalise an overall MOU with the ministry, and they clearly wanted this too. The ministry was sponsoring a ‘week of the elderly’ in October, and wanted Sightsavers to become more involved. They also invited us to sit on the national steering CBR committee.
The meeting at the Ministry of Health was more of a formality. We did however hear from Mulago hospital (the main national referral hospital) about their need for $1.5 million to build a new eye unit, and the need for a new ophthalmologist for the Hoima eye unit (built by Sightsavers). We clearly have a good relationship with the Ministry.
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Monday 28 August – Part 1
I began the day by meeting the Uganda Country Office staff. Johnson Ngorok, the Deputy Regional Director for our East Africa Regional Office, was also with us. I held a surgery, talking through where we stand against our organisational objectives and some of the issues we currently face. These included the progress made so far towards Global Working and the imminent staff survey, in which all staff are being encouraged to share their views. This will be the first ever comprehensive survey of all Sightsavers employees.
I was asked a number of questions. They were particularly keen on the new Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) policy, and were looking for more guidelines and training on how it should be implemented One area where there is definitely some confusion is in how forecasting and accounting work together. I was very pleased to see how Finance worked very closely with the programme people – they were clearly a single country team rather than ‘programme staff’ and ‘finance and admin’. I was also pleased that the concept of the staff survey was received positively, and hope we get a good response!
I began the day by meeting the Uganda Country Office staff. Johnson Ngorok, the Deputy Regional Director for our East Africa Regional Office, was also with us. I held a surgery, talking through where we stand against our organisational objectives and some of the issues we currently face. These included the progress made so far towards Global Working and the imminent staff survey, in which all staff are being encouraged to share their views. This will be the first ever comprehensive survey of all Sightsavers employees.
I was asked a number of questions. They were particularly keen on the new Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) policy, and were looking for more guidelines and training on how it should be implemented One area where there is definitely some confusion is in how forecasting and accounting work together. I was very pleased to see how Finance worked very closely with the programme people – they were clearly a single country team rather than ‘programme staff’ and ‘finance and admin’. I was also pleased that the concept of the staff survey was received positively, and hope we get a good response!
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Today I arrived safely after an uneventful trip from Heathrow to Kampala via Entebbe and Nairobi. Somewhat to my surprise - given recent events - my baggage also arrived with me.
My trip to Uganda has three main purposes:
a) To meet the staff of the Uganda Country Office, to talk about how our organisation is performing and our key themes and activities, as well as to listen to their concerns and issues
b) To visit a range of projects and meet a number of partners to give me a better insight into issues in Uganda.
c) To meet a number of Ministers to build on the existing governmental links and to advocate for higher priority for eyecare and social inclusion for visually impaired people.
It’s going to be busy, but I’m looking forward to it!
My trip to Uganda has three main purposes:
a) To meet the staff of the Uganda Country Office, to talk about how our organisation is performing and our key themes and activities, as well as to listen to their concerns and issues
b) To visit a range of projects and meet a number of partners to give me a better insight into issues in Uganda.
c) To meet a number of Ministers to build on the existing governmental links and to advocate for higher priority for eyecare and social inclusion for visually impaired people.
It’s going to be busy, but I’m looking forward to it!
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