“Can a Building Hold a Philosophy? A Single Wall an Idea?”

“I have travelled the world visiting EMERGENCY projects and what has always struck me, from Kabul to Sudan, Erbil to Bangui is that in each hospital I have felt a sense of familiarity and unity. Not just because of the staff and the work being done, but because the buildings all connect. In the building you can see EMERGENCY’s ethos, all it stands for.

So even now, standing in a muddy construction site in Uganda, I look at one of the first walls, standing there in isolation, and already I know this is an EMERGENCY project.

As I am guided around the site and look at the plans, the scale and scope of the project becomes obvious. This is going to be a Centre of Excellence for the whole region, providing care for the community for generations.

This wall is the moment when the idea became reality. But it is also a statement of what EMERGENCY stands for and all this hospital will be. Strong, permanent, ecological and with purpose. Gino Strada has said that you should build a hospital in Africa with the same care and attention as if you were building a hospital for your own children in Europe; this hospital reflects that belief. This hospital is being built by EMERGENCY in solidarity with Uganda and those who will be treated within these walls.

As always, I leave from this trip proud to be part of the EMERGENCY family.”

Giles Duley

For more information on the Centre of Excellence in Paediatric Surgery, visit:

https://emergencyuk.org/project/uganda/centre-of-excellence-in-paediatric-surgery/