Abay’s story

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Abay (not his real name) is a 76 year old man with advanced liver cancer and kidney failure. There is no surgery available in Ethiopia for this condition so the only option for him is to receive management of his symptoms so that he will die peacefully. He has suffered from recurrent ascites (fluid collecting in his abdominal cavity), which has been drained several times in hospital. He was prescribed medicines to try and stop the fluid recurring but these had to be stopped due his poor kidney function. His pain killer (Tramadol) has also had to be reduced as he was becoming sleepy which was probably due to the kidneys not excreting the drug properly, so it was accumulating in the body. However, his abdominal pain has returned. He had been prescribed dexamethasone for his poor appetite but as there was no improvement it was also discontinued.  Hospice Ethiopia will continue to manage Abay’s complex symptoms and support his attentive wife and daughter. 

Hospice Ethiopia UK’s fundraising events in 2023 will raise money so that more people like Abay can be cared for at home in Ethiopia.

Trustee visit to Hospice Ethiopia

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Sue and Jamie Mumford have just returned from a very productive trip to Ethiopia. This is what they had to say about their trip:

“We have just returned from nearly 3 weeks in Ethiopia. We have visited every year since we started supporting Hospice Ethiopia 11 years ago (except from in 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic). We spent time with the staff of Hospice Ethiopia visiting their patients and reviewing how the money we transferred to them last year (£55,682) was spent as well as consulting on their budget plan for 2023. These discussions are really important for Hospice Ethiopia UK to understand the successes and challenges that the hospice faces.

We enjoyed a 2 day visit to Jimma University Medical Center (south western Ethiopia) where a new palliative care (care for people with life-limiting illnesses) department has been established following training given by Hospice Ethiopia 10 months ago. We were impressed by the team who are already providing comprehensive inpatient, outpatient, and home care. For those patients living outside Jimma they provide a telephone follow up service. We were privileged to have a meeting with Dr Fetiya (who is clinical director of this 800 bed hospital serving a catchment of 15 million population) where we discussed the ongoing problems with obtaining oral morphine for controlling pain. At present Tramadol is the strongest pain killer available, this means many of their patients do not have their pain adequately controlled (see photo below of Sue and Jamie with the team at Jimma).

The second week of our visit we travelled to Debark in north western Ethiopia to help deliver a 5 day palliative care course. This is the first time such training has been delivered in a very rural area. Many of the villages can only be accessed on foot or on a mule which presents additional challenges. Some of the 19 delegates had not heard of palliative care but by the end of the week they could see the huge need for this type of care when less than 1% of patients receive curative treatment for cancer. Hospice Ethiopia will provide mentorship to help with the implantation of palliative care in the hospital and health centres.

It was inspiring to see the impact that Hospice Ethiopia is now having on the expanding provision of palliative care in Ethiopia. With an estimated population of 120 million, there is still a long way to go but it is highly rewarding to know that Hospice Ethiopia UK is making a difference for those who suffer so much as they approach the end of their life. We are grateful to all our donors that enable us to continue to support Hospice Ethiopia. The trustees do not claim any expenses for their visits to Ethiopia, so every penny donated goes to where it’s desperately needed.”

Art talk raises £300

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Rev Canon Nick Garrard’s talk on Artists, Sitters and Settings on the 18th January raised just over £300 towards the running costs of Hospice Ethiopia. Many thanks to Nick for this fascinating and stimulating event. Rev Dr Nick Garrard is Bishop’s Officer for Christian Spirituality through the creative arts (Norwich).

‘Cuppas and Conversation’ event

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Fundraising got off to a good start for 2023 with a ‘Cuppas and Conversation’ morning in January in Trustees Sue and Jamie’s house in North Norfolk. This event was in aid of the Tewolde Medhane Fund (formerly the Comfort Fund), and a total of £276 was raised which will go towards those Hospice Ethiopia patients in the greatest of need. The Tewolde Medhane Fund exists to provide a small regular payment to such patients to pay for essentials such as food, rent, and clothing.

The Big Give Christmas Challenge 2022

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One donation, twice the impact

Many of you have generously made donations in the past that have helped provide crucial care for patients. We’re very excited to let you know that Hospice Ethiopia UK has been selected again this year to participate in the Big Give Christmas Challenge 2022, the UK’s largest match funding campaign.
We will be raising money specifically to pay for 2 senior hospice staff to undergo continuing professional development, in order to ensure the future sustainability of Hospice Ethiopia. The accountant, Gullilat Korbu, wishes to undertake a course in leadership and management training and Nurse Filagot Tadele plans to do her Masters in Palliative Care at Hospice Africa Uganda.

We have secured £4000 in matched funding, now we need donations to equal this amount to benefit completely from the matched funding pot. Donations to this project will be matched for 7 days, from 12pm on Tuesday 29th November.  So, every pound donated during that period means two pounds for Hospice Ethiopia. More information will follow on how to donate, closer to the time.

Mannington Hall Charity Day

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The sun shone on this annual event on Sunday 4th September, and we were delighted to see many supporters at the event. Our bottle Tombola raised £259 which will again be sent to Addis Adaba to help fund care for Hospice Ethiopia’s patients in their own homes. Many thanks to our trustee Marion and her volunteers who organised this fundraiser.

Calendars and Christmas Cards 2022

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We have 2 beautiful designs for Christmas cards for 2022, including a new design showing an Africa-focussed Christmas bauble, and a popular design from a previous year. Both designs are exclusive to Hospice Ethiopia by linocut printmaker and artist Alice Roberts. Cards in packs of 10 are priced at £5 per pack (+postage if applicable) and are available from Marion (celia.bryce@btinternet.com), Sue (info@hospiceethiopia.org.uk) or the pop-up Christmas card shop at St Peter Mancroft church, Norwich (from 19/10/21).

We also have a new calendar for 2023, featuring amazing photos from around Ethiopia -these make ideal Christmas presents! Calendars are £10 each (+ postage if applicable) and are available from Sue (info@hospiceethiopia.org.uk).

Brighton fundraising swim 24th August

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Very many congratulations and thanks go to Dr Freddie Collins for her amazing fundraising swim between the 2 piers in Brighton. She raised a staggering £1,375 from 44 supporters. Thank you so very much to all those who donated to this valiant effort. This money will go to Hospice Ethiopia to provide care for people desperately in need. Dr Freddie Collins has now arrived in Addis Adaba taking with her much-needed medical supplies for Hospice Ethiopia for example stoma bags. She is volunteering at Hospice Ethiopia and we look forward to hearing about her experiences.

Abena’s Story

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Abena (not her real name) is a 38-year-old married lady with breast cancer. On her first visit Nurse Filagot from Hospice Ethiopia carried out a full assessment of her needs. She had been seen by her local health centre several months ago when the diagnosis had been made but had declined further investigations and treatment. She returned to the health centre when the cancer spread to become an open wound, and was referred to the regional hospital and then on to St Paul’s hospital in Addis Adaba for treatment. This meant she had to travel by bus for over 24 hours to the capital, leaving behind her husband and 3 children, aged 15 (with autism), 10 and 6. She was able to stay with her sister but this involved sleeping on the floor of the sitting room.

The assessment was difficult as she only spoke a regional language (there are over 80 in Ethiopia) and was illiterate, but with her sister’s help Nurse Filagot was able to establish her symptoms. She had suffered for at least 50 days with extensive ‘burning’ pain across her body; the cause of which was unknown. She had local spread of her cancer creating an open wound across her breast. She had received one cycle of chemotherapy at St Paul’s Hospital, leaving her feeling exhausted and nauseous. She was also suffering from a low mood which was evident by her lack of eye contact and general demeanour.

Nurse Filagot established a plan for her care. She gave her a course of amitriptyline 12.5mg daily for her pain and metoclopramide for her nausea. She provided dressings and topical metronidazole for the breast wound. She then explained the risks of neutropenic sepsis (which can be caused by chemotherapy) and spent time listening to her concerns and anxieties. She plans to visit again in a week to monitor her symptoms.