According to World Vision, an international NGO operating at the grass roots level, 80% of health complications in rural Uganda are not treated at all. Many people suffer, voiceless and helpless, with no avenue for assistance. With the use of information technology, however, many debilitating diseases can be prevented or treated through education or early intervention.

PCE Foundation plans to use Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to identify and education those most at risk. Our focus will be on prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS, malaria, and reproductive health issues; however, the disabled and those with rare diseases will also benefit.

Photographs, videos and audio recordings documenting real life situations will be developed using ICT tools. These records and documentaries will be used for educational purposes in community training events and for winning support and treatment for the victims from health care organizations and entities.

Although this program has not yet been formally launched due to a lack of funding, we have already taken on several health care promotions, including:

• Partnering with the AIDS Support Organization (TASO) to counsel and test 203 people in the community for HIV.
• Sending 69 specially trained young women from the Rural Girl Child Mentorship program back to their respective villages to provide peer-to-peer mentorship on issues such as early marriage, pregnancy and HIV.  In January 2014, we reached 812 girls through this effort in communities where villagers have no access to health care and girls are routinely married at a very early age.
• Distributing hundreds of condoms donated by Wellesley College.

We have barely scratched the surface of possibilities in this area, and with support, we hope to move forward with our preventative health initiative as soon as possible. We would like to provide emergency support care to people living with HIV and those with complicated health issues, including pregnant mothers whose lives are at risk. Reproductive heath, sex education, water and sanitation, malaria preventive measures, and de-worming are some of the key areas of our intervention. The basics that we will need to implement our health goals include an ambulance/emergency van, a laptop, projector, generator, camcorder, quality still cameras, stationary, and funds for the rental of venues.