“We cannot build strong communities without healthy people.” Dr Fredrick Bakandonda said it right as he took the presidency of the Uptown Kampala Rotary club, and he followed it with numbers: six to eight donation centres, 1,000 units of blood, and a start date of July 25 for a mega medical camp.
The handover took place in late June at a Nakasero restaurant, St Anthony’s. Outgoing president Immy Nakyeyune passed the leadership to Bakandonda, who is the club’s second president, for the Rotary year 2026-2027. Community health, New Vision reported, will be the club’s top priority.
Blood, and the kingdom
The centrepiece is a tie-up with the Buganda kingdom. Mengo Hospital needs a steadier supply. So the club and the kingdom plan to open six to eight donation centres in the traditional counties, the Amasaza, instead of depending on a lone collection point. Target: 1,000 units of blood.
Camps and the road east
From July 25 the club will run a mega medical camp jointly with clubs that Kampala South Rotary sponsors. Bakandonda said it will cover immunisation, medical care for young people and maternal care for mothers, and will screen for cancers.
Further east, the club has teamed up with Rotaract in Mbale Uptown for a roadside health camp. Phase one goes to Iganga. Phase two will extend to Mbale.
The programme reaches beyond health. Bakandonda said the club will push tree planting, teach communities about sustainable energy and encourage steps to cut pollution. Peace work, youth programmes, vocational service and buddy-group schemes sit on the list as well. “We shall also tell our story boldly,” he said, “because good work deserves visibility.”
A young club
The man taking over is a medical doctor, an internal medicine resident at the Mulago national referral hospital with a Master of Medicine from Makerere University. He joined Rotaract in 2017 and says leadership means serving alongside people, not above them. Oscar Rwigema, a past assistant governor, used the evening to remind members of the mission: “small, well-executed acts of service can prevent disease, improve education, expand opportunity and restore dignity.”
The club is only three years old. Nakyeyune said she founded it with Bakandonda and Francis Adule so that former Rotaractors could move into Rotary without friction. Over that time it has taken on schooling, health care, polio immunisation drives, money-management classes, youth empowerment and peacebuilding, and it has backed The Rotary Foundation. Money has come from members and corporate partners; in the past year, Nakyeyune said, the club raised about sh11 million from the latter.
“Today, we hand over a club built on a strong foundation,” Nakyeyune told the gathering, adding that the incoming board inherits a committed membership.
Sources
- Rotary, Buganda kingdom team up to expand blood donation drive
- Rotary Club of Uptown Kampala Installs 2nd President at Leadership Transition Ceremony
