Spokane group seeks supplies for medical mission trip to Uganda

A new Spokane mission group is sending its first medical team on April 18 to support orphans in Uganda.

The nonprofit Medical Assistance & Missional Outreach, or MAMO, is seeking supplies for medical kits through an Amazon wish list. Members on next month’s trip will deliver 18 medical kits to schools, offer medical clinics at seven sites, and provide training for pastors and teachers.

Six people on the team, including four from Spokane, will be in Uganda for nearly two weeks. They include one licensed EMT and a registered nurse along with volunteers. This trip’s main goal is to deliver kits and train people to use them, said team member Marchauna Rodgers.

MAMO formed after several people from Washington state went on a mission trip to Uganda last summer. Rodgers and others witnessed children who suffered from medical issues such as malaria and lacked access to basic medicines.

Several organizations have donated medical supplies toward the next trip, helping reduce the medical kits’ overall cost. Spokane’s Indaba Coffee has a specialty roast of Ugandan coffee, and the owner is donating money from each bag of that blend toward MAMO’s medical support.

Under long-term goals, the nonprofit plans to support Ugandan schools with nutrition and public health education, as well as help many pastors to open medical clinics at their schools. MAMO is working with 18 schools, each with 300 to 500 children.

More information is available at www.mamouganda.org or by emailing MAMO.uganda@gmail.com.