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Masindi, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Nairobi based Polish Embassy has embarked on the construction of a fully-fledged maternity ward at Nyabyeya health center II in Budongo sub county in Masindi district.
The embassy has contracted Bernard Alinaitwe Construction Company limited to undertake the Shillings 180million project.
Rev. Father Peter Wasswa, the country director of the Polish Development Organization in Uganda told Uganda Radio Network in an interview that construction of the maternity ward by the Polish Embassy is in appreciation for the good reception the people of Nyabyeya and Masindi in particular offered to the Polish refugees when they settled in the area.
Father Wasswa says that the maternity ward will comprise of an anesthetic, delivery, treatment, staff cloakroom, nurses bay and shower rooms among others.
He says that the facility will help maternal mortality rates since most expectant mothers in the area stay far away from Masindi General hospital.
Father Wasswa has appealed to residents to jealously guard and protect the structures put in place by the embassy since they are meant to benefit them.
A nurse at Nyabyeya health center II who spoke to URN on condition of anonymity explains that the facility receives between 100 to 150 expectant mothers monthly despite the fact that they are ill-equipped.
Sanny Alinaitwe, a resident of Nyabyeya says that the construction of the facility is a big relief to residents who have been tracking a distance of about 35km to Masindi General Hospital for specialized medical attention.
Grace Nyamaizi, another resident has applauded the Polish embassy for the initiative, saying the construction of the facility will attract more women to deliver in the hands of qualified medical personal unlike in the past where women would prefer traditional birth attendants.
Uganda hosted close to 7,000 Polish refugees, mainly women and children between l942 and 1944. The British protectorate government settled the Polish refugees in Nyabyeya in Nyabyeya parish Budongo sub-county in Masindi district and Koja (Mpunge) in Mukono district.
To date, especially at Nyabyeya forestry college institute, many of the structures built by the Polish refugees are still evident. They include twin houses also known as labour camps that used to accommodate Polish refugee widows.
There are also many water sources constructed by the Polish refugees that still serve the community. One structure that has stood the test of the time is the former house for the Polish refugee camp commandant within Nyabyeya forestry college.
The refugees built the only improbable church of Our Lady Queen of Poland Catholic Church that has since been renamed St. Mary Nyabyeya Catholic Church and seats a few meters from Nyabyeya Forestry College.
Built between 1943 and 1945 by the Polish refugees, the church still serves the local community. Polish students renovated the church in 2010.
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