Ken and Judith Finch are CMS Ireland Mission Partners based in Kiwoko Hospital, Uganda. Ken works as the hospital's Programmes Manager and Judith is involved in looking after the many guests that the hospital recieves.
News and articles from Ken and Judith Finch
Back again
Dear Friends
We have been having a good and busy time lately. Our friends Bob & Sue Kemp from St Albans together with their boys matt, Josh and Greg were out with us for almost 3 weeks. We had a great time with them (Thanks so much for visiting). seeing lots of Uganda that we had not visited before – it was amazing for us too to see the variety that there is in Uganda. Now we are very much back at the hospital – Judith continues to balance the hospitality needs of the hospital which are hu…
update
Its been so long that we posted a blog that its hard to know where to start but we'll have a go at reviewing the last wee while
Obviously the most up to date news is the extreme disappointment felt by Judith (& Ken) at Argentina going out of the World Cup – a team that talented should surely have gone further but then if the coach doesn't play one of the best players in the world…........ As you would expect there has been a lot of interest in the World Cup amongst staff at Kiwoko…
Runners up
The football competition was a great success – it had the lot – controversial goals, tight matches, and of course the obligatory penalty shoot out to determine the overall winners. In the end the Medical & Admin team were runners up on penalties to the Workshop & Builders team. Our consolation prize was to win the volleyball match against the nurse and lab students and then a prize giving party in the evening. We are now going to repeat the tournament every 4 months. Continued thanks to …
Football
Well football is something of a universal language whether in the UK, Ireland or Uganda. In Uganda it seems everyone supports an English Premiership side – Arsenal, Liverpool ,Chelsea and Man U flags and shirts everywhere. We mention this because Kiwoko Hospital is organising a competition this next week – first match is Saturday evening and I (Ken) am expected to turn out if for nothing else but the entertainment value. We'll see how our team gets on. Thanks for all the recent comments – gr…
Luganda lessons
Well its been a month since we last posted on the blog so it must be time for an update. There has been a lot of change at Kiwoko since we arrived – with Both Rory and Niall joining the team in the last two months. Since Niall has arrived Ken has upped his exercise regime – so far he has managed only one 15 minute run but with big plans for the future! – if nothing else we give some of the locals a bit of a laugh first thing in the morning. Judith continues to be in charge of the guest house whi…
The weather
Not always the most interesting of subjects but very imporatnt none the less When we arrived almost 8 weeks ago Kiwoko was extremely dry with about 3 months without rain. However things have changed and it is safe to say we are properly into the rainy season – it has been a lot cooler and our water tanks are now getting filled again. We had some complaints when we had to draw water from a local farm for washing – the water was a nice light brown colour! Our supply of drinking water remained fin…
All Change
Well not quite all change but this is something of a time of transition for Kiwoko Hospital Judith and I arrived in mid January replacing Jim and Margaret McAnlis. Last week we received a new Doctor from Germany – Raul and his wife Cristiana together with their two children Lars and Joshua. In a couple of weeks time Rory Wilson will come out to be the new Medical Superintendent at Kiwoko and then we look forward to having Niall Manogue to head up the community work in early April. This is all go…
Spot the difference
You know it is funny how quickly things become normal – so before we become too used to things here in Uganda we thought we should note some of the events that have taken us by surprise – so here are a few
speaking in morning prayers with a chicken interrupting with its clucks as it roamed through the room women kneeling as they shake your hand when they greet you – this is normally reserved when greeting men but also applies to expatriate women so Judith gets the same respect! being sung to (K…
Big needs
We have been really enthused by the work going on at Kiwoko – both at the hospital itself and in the community. There are some very committed Ugandan staff who have sacrificed a lot to live and work at Kiwoko. They are a real inspiration to us. The hospital should run on about 8 doctors – currently we have 3! This is causing huge strains on these personnel in particular Dr Peter Sserwaada who acts as Medical Superintendent as well as surgeon and the main general physician at the hospital. He nee…
Oli otya!
Hello How are you – this has become one of our standard phrases over the past two weeks as we settle into life in Kiwoko. There is a lot going on and we are delighted to be here amongst some quite extraordinary people. Today we have come into Kampala and are taking advantage of an Internet cafe to catch up with e-mails and blogs! The last couple of weeks have gone by quickly – funny thing time – we still feel very fresh in many ways and yet in other ways sights and sounds have become very famili…
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