The church-run St Philips Health Centre serves some of the most vul­ner­able people in Gulu town. This place­ment is an ideal oppor­tun­ity for a New Zealand health worker to both grow their pro­fes­sional skills, and develop a heart for mission.

The person selec­ted would:

• Work along­side Ugandan staff in various depart­ments at the health centre
• Be ment­ored by Ugandan staff to nav­ig­ate cul­tural complexities
• Reflect with the St Philips’ lead­er­ship on their exper­i­ence working in this health­care setting
• Enrich the min­istry of St Phil­lips Health Centre
• Grow in medical ability and know­ledge as they learn from Ugandan colleagues
• Receive the Lukwiya Health Fel­low­ship Schol­ar­ship Award of $6000
• Become a “Lukwiya Fellow” and share their exper­i­ence with others back in New Zealand
• Grow spir­itu­ally and exper­i­ence medical mission first-hand

Minimum of three months, but could be exten­ded. Place­ment dates are flexible.

NZCMS will provide cross-cul­tural train­ing before the place­ment, and debrief­ing after the place­ment. Dr Nick Laing would oversee the place­ment in Uganda.

Who is the Fellowship named after?

Dr. Matthew Lukwiya was head doctor of St. Mary’s Hos­pital Lacor in North­ern Uganda. He was the first Ugandan hos­pital dir­ector and was called to lead the hos­pital in a time of crisis. In 2001 he iden­ti­fied Uganda’s first Ebola out­break in Gulu, and rallied many staff who left their posts in fear to come back to the hos­pital and work with the sick patients.

Before he died from Ebola, he prayed “let me be the last.” His prayer was answered as he was the last staff member to die during the out­break. His family gave us their bless­ing to name this fel­low­ship in honour of his service.