Dear readers,
Today I want to introduce you a fundamental person within EMOTER, a key-member of the local staff and, we can say, a pillar of the organisation.
Her name is Maureen and she has been working with EMOTER from the very very beginning.
She was born in Kampala, the capital city, in an environment totally different from Nebbi, a rural village, in the middle of the nature, peaceful and quiet. All these elements are far from being present also in Kampala, which is, as Maureen told me, a “crazy city”. I would personally add that is chaotic and hectic even though alive and very stimulating, especially for young people who seeks activities and opportunities.
She has studied medical records and health informatics and in the meanwhile in 2019 she started volunteering during her school holiday at Galilee Community General Hospital. She was in charge of the immunisation station department, dealing with administrative tasks such as registration of datas, filling of documents and patients cards, especially dedicated to children reports.
She really enjoyed her time there; helping people in need and contributing to a social cause has always been part of her life, a goal defined in her path.
One day, during that 2019 summer, Lenka, our CEO and founder, started to volunteer as well at the same facility where Maureen was. They so met and they became friend, sharing values, dreams and exchanging opinions and perspectives while enjoying their intercultural friendship.
And it was during that 2019 summer that Lenka came up with the idea of the first medical outreach in order to provide treatments and basic essential medicines to rural communities. She managed to obtain funds and money to buy all the necessary equipments and all the medicines required, but she was missing the help that just a great team can bring.
And that was the moment when she understood she wanted her friend to be part of this new project. She so asked Maureen for her help: Lenka knew her friend’s strong competencies and her experience in the field and she knew they share the same ideals. She knew was committed the same to the same scope: helping the others and guaranteeing the right of health to everyone.
And Lenka wasn’t wrong, because Maureen accepted the idea with enthusiasm and passion, showing her devotion and adhesion to the cause. She so joined the rest of the team during the first outreach, holding the same position she had at the Hospital, at the immunisation station.
Her confidence in the role helped the rest of the team in proceeding smoothly during their first experience, which ended in a great success, with hearths full of gratitude and satisfaction, and a huge number of people cured and helped.
The positive emotions and outcomes obtained convinced Lenka to keep going on with the idea, structuring it as a longer-term project, planning other outreaches and registering EMOTER as a formal organisation. And of course, in her plan Maureen was an important part; she was (and she is still is) fundamental, helpful, responsible, hardworking and passionate. All these aspects were precisely what Lenka was looking for to have in her team.
So while the project was developing, Maureen started to move into different roles, passing from the immunisation station to the registration desk of the patients, carefully registering datas and informations, a necessary step to track down the people treated in order to know who was in need of what in the following outreach.
Maureen worked hard through the first years of EMOTER, witnessing the growth of the organisation which faced challenges and obstacles, but which managed to survive and to keep expanding, overcoming also COVID-19 pandemic.
And after that famous and life-changing summer in 2019, the year 2023 has been another big year for Maureen’s life. In 2023 EMOTER moved its office from Kampala to Nebbi town, in order to be closer to the district is serving and to facilitate the deployment of new activities. 2023 was the year when Maureen decided to follow EMOTER so that she could keep being involved in the project she was cherishing and believing in.
She so moved to Nebbi, saying goodbye to her loved big and crazy city, Kampala and to her family and friends. She moved to start living by herself in a new small town, which can be seen as a big step and change from a young woman used to a capital city.
Although some criticalities, she told me that “I like the fact that Nebbi is quiet, people are so welcoming and willing to help”.
Personally, Nebbi has something special and magical; it has the capacity to make everyone fall in love with it; the green surroundings, the smiling people around and the peaceful silent interrupted just by the sound of birds or frogs, are undoubtable easy-to-love elements.
Maureen is now the data clerk and office assistant for EMOTER; she is the one who is always present in the office, the first to arrive and the last to go away, ready to work and chat joyfully to everyone.
I asked her what is her vision for EMOTER and for herself, and her reply clearly display her unaltered dedication to the organisation;
“The vision I have for EMOTER is for it to grow bigger, so that more people can benefit from its services. The vision for myself is to keep working hand in hand with EMOTER, to help more people in need since helping is what I love the most. In parallel, I would also love to set up other personal business to develop more.”
Opmerkingen