What is the Helping Hands Medical Fellowship

Mission
Since 2005, the Global Youth Partnership for Africa has organized the Helping Hands Medical Fellowship program in Uganda. Now entering its 5th year, the Global Youth Partnership for Africa and Brit Olam seek to send 8 Israeli medical professionals (Helping Hands Medical Fellows-HHMFs) to Uganda in order to continue delivering primary health care and related health education training for adults, children, and families living in Uganda, thus, ultimately improving quality of life for those in need. The Israeli medical professionals work in active partnership with the local
health centers, communities and District authorities in delivering primary health care and related training programs within the rural Kiboga District.

History
HHMF began in 2005 when Jeremy Goldberg, Global Youth Partnership for Africa (GYPA) Founder and Director, and Rebecca Wolf, a past participant and volunteer of GYPA, then called Project Namuwongo Zone B, organized a staff visit to Uganda. The idea was to create a unique opportunity for Israeli physicians to use their skills and expertise to improve lives in Uganda. In its first year (July 2005 – August 2006), HHMF operated as a partnership between GYPA, the Israeli Medical Association (IMA) and the Kairos Medical Centre in Namuwongo, Uganda and the program sent 6
delegations to Uganda.

Following successful completion of HHMF Year 1, GYPA received follow-up funding to commence Year 2(December 2006 – August 2007) and Year 3 (September 2007-August 2008) programming. During Years 2 and 3, GYPA built a partnership with Brit Olam, an International Israeli-Jewish Volunteer Movement headquartered in Tel-Aviv. Clinical work was conducted in and out of health centers in Namuwongo while also expanding into rural outreach clinics. In addition, GYPA staff and HHMFs coordinated health education and prevention initiatives in Namuwongo through which a core group of Namuwongo youth was organized and trained on various health issues.
These youth gained valuable skills for educating others and with the HHMF carried out various preventive health clinics within the community. In years 2 and 3, 7 doctors had travelled to Namuwongo for HHMF.

At that point, GYPA and Brit Olam decided, the clinical work in Namuwongo was reduntant and it was time to make a shift, beginning our rural HHMF program for Year 4. While maintaining weekly health training programs and a clinic in Namuwongo, HHMF began focusing on treatment and training in the rural Kiboga District, where HHMFs held outreaches in previous years. This move to the Kiboga district has been a positive one as HHMFs have built a strong relationship with World Vision's offices there as well as the District Health Authorities. It is clear that there is an
enormous need for health care in many remote areas, which the district does not have the resources to provide on its own. At the same time, we have found that there are many people eager to join in the newly established Village Health Team training courses.

Upon conclusion of Year 4, 4 delegations (7 doctors and 1 nurse) will have participated in our project in Kiboga making a total of 17 delegations and 32 fellows over the last four years of HHMF. In Year 4, more than 3000 people were treated by HHMFs, 30 people were trained in the Village Health Team program and another 30 are in currently being trained.