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news Friday, JUly 29, 2022 EbEnEzEr 17 uCu gets over sh520m in dental equipment UCU School of Dentistry (This article was edited from the February 2021 published version) After several months of waiting, modern training equipment arrived in midFebruary 2021 for use by the newly designated Uganda Christian University School of Dentistry. This story, by John Semakula, narrows on the contributions specific to the USA-based Midmark and MedShare entities. Uganda Christian University (UCU) has received a consignment of dental equipment worth $141,488 (over sh520m) donated by Midmark, a USA-based manufacturer of medical and dental tools. The equipment was delivered free of charge to the UCU School of Dentistry in Mengo, Kampala, courtesy of an offer by MedShare, a shipping company also based in the United States. The equipment includes: five Ultracomfort dental chairs; LED Dental Light; Separator Tank Assembly, a Powervac P7 Base; Powerair Oil-less Compressor and a Midmark M3 Steam Sterilizer, 230V. The Dean of the UCU School of Dentistry, Dr. James Magara, described the donation as generous, critical and foundational in setting up a dental training lab. UCU started an independent School of Dentistry in the middle of 2020 and is equipping its training laboratories with the most modern equipment possible. “We have a lot of heartfelt gratitude School of Medicine Dean Dr. Gerald Tumusiime tries out an equipment on a UCU student that the donors were able to see this need and also saw it fit to respond to it,” Dr. Magara said. “They have a very big heart to help UCU or parts of the world that are not well resourced as where they are. When you train a doctor, you have actually invested in a lot of lives because that doctor if well trained will go on to work for a few more decades.” Joana Bideri, a third-year student of dentistry, also praised the donation. “The dental chairs in particular will help us get used to using them before graduating,” she said. Mark Bartels, the Executive Director of the UCU Partners, said Doug Fountain, the former UCU Deputy Vice-Chancellor in charge of Development and External Relations, connected his organization (UCU Partners) to MidMark. Doug is the Executive Director for Christian Connections in International Health, an organization that promotes Fact UCU was the first private university to health and Christian perspectives. The organization shares information and provides a forum for dialogue, networking, advocacy and fellowship to a spectrum of Christian organizations and individuals working in international health. Doug obtain a charter from the government. On May 20, 2004, the charter was delivered by President Yoweri Museveni on the opening of the technology park portion at the University’s Mukono campus. expressed excitement that Midmark donated dental equipment to UCU for training of a new cadre of dentists. “This is one of the most overlooked areas of health professional training as good dentistry affects health, self-image and nutrition for men, women and children,” he said. “I came to know them (Midmark) through another association several years ago and had the chance to share about UCU several times with one of their executives. This donation is a great example of partnership done well – timely assessment of need and information sharing, coordination with local partners, understanding of what the donors will need. Now let’s see this make a difference in the lives MidMark says... Mitch Eiting, the global philanthropic and corporate giving manager for MidMark also said the organization was very excited to work with Uganda Christian University Partners to donate dental equipment to the UCU School of Dentistry. “We believe this equipment will help support the dental school by allowing students to continue focusing on the technical skills needed to treat patients successfully. Also, we are pleased that the additional equipment will allow the school to increase student registration, leading to more dental professionals much in demand in Uganda,” Eiting said of the people of Uganda.” According to Mark, in 2019 when former UCU Vice-Chancellor, Dr. John Senyonyi, was on a working visit to the United States, he made a connection with MedShare, which later offered to ship the equipment to Uganda. The organization (MedShare) helps donated medical and dental supplies to hospitals and medical schools around the world. “After receiving the items from Midmark, MedShare added more medical supplies and equipment and sent the container to Uganda,” Mark said, adding that UCU Partners contributors provided $25,000 (over sh92m) for the container. “UCU Partners is grateful to be in partnership with UCU and the School of Medicine and School of Dentistry and to provide some of the equipment needed to train the next generation of doctors and dentists in Uganda,” Mark noted. “We believe that as UCU trains medical and dental students in a Christ-centered context, they will be prepared to serve and make a difference to thousands who very much need quality medical and dental care.” With the statistics from the Uganda Dental Association indicating one dentist for every 142,000 Ugandans, Midmark’s donations comes as a “God sent gift” to bridge the doctor to patient gap in the country, Mark said. The donation also comes at the early 2020 backdrop of a directive by the East African Medical and Dental Practitioners Council for UCU to stop admitting new students until it fulfilled certain conditions, including acquiring more dental equipment for the school. The University has since complied with the directive and is continuing to recruit new students. How Mwima’s life was molded by pain and pen journey to clinching the coveted Phd opportunity School of Social Sciences By Jimmy Siyasa (This article was edited from the July 2021 published version) Two tragedies occurred in the early life of Simon Mwima. One, he lost his sister to AIDS. Two, the son of his departed sister succumbed to the same scourge. Those two deaths left an indelible mark on Mwima that later determined his career path. “Due to structural and institutional barriers, poverty and stigma, my sister, Alice, could not access the care that she needed, leading to her death,” he said. After watching his sister and nephew die helplessly, he made it a mission to fight against HIV and AIDS. And he is now a medical social worker, as well as an academic at Uganda Christian University (UCU). Mwima recently won a four-year, merit-based scholarship worth $70,000, including tuition and stipend, with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s School of Social Work. According to the Times Higher Education world university rankings, the university ranks number 48. The offer did not come on a silver platter for the 36-year-old, who is the first person to pursue a PhD program in his family. Mwima, a son of retired primary teachers, previously worked as a clinical social worker at the Mulago Most At Risk Initiative (MARPI) clinic in Kampala. At the clinic, he managed cases of vulnerable adolescents. He is a research fellow for the Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) implementation programme, a new HIV prevention intervention. He holds two master’s degrees — the first in public health, from Lund University in Sweden (2015) and in sociology (2020), from Makerere University. His undergraduate degree, which he obtained in 2009 at Makerere University, was in sociology. Five years ago, he was invited to UCU as a guest speaker. From then, Mwima has been lecturing in sociology, anthropology and social work. He also supervises students conducting research at both undergraduate and master’s level at the institution. Mwima considers his employment at UCU a blessing because it has offered him opportunity to translate knowledge through lecturing, an experience he believes has afforded him friendships with fellow academics and students. The teaching job also came in handy during his PhD application. “The teaching experience is critical and matters while PhD programmes are assessing applications for admission,” he says. Mwima intends to invest plenty of his post-PhD time conducting research to inform sexual health policy and practice. “I applied to five PhD programs and I must thank God that the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign was impressed with my academic credentials and my research interests,” he said. Looking back at the path of material scarcity that Mwima has trodden since his birth in the eastern Uganda district of 36 Mwima, a 36-yearold, is the first person to pursue a PhD programme in his family. ““I thank God my research interests impressed the University of Illinois. Budaka, he cannot be more grateful for where he is now. Mwima also earns his daily bread working for the Ugandan government in the health ministry. He has been a medical social worker for the National AIDS Control Programme since 2016. A celebrated national trainer for the Ministry of Health, Mwima has educated over 500 social workers, as well as spearheading various HIV/AIDS prevention campaigns. With the Covid-19 Mental and Psychological National Taskforce, Mwima has contributed to the development of the national psychosocial plan for Covid, as well as serving as a social epidemiologist. in shipping

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