Today, Uganda Red Cross Society (URCS) held a successful strategic meeting and orientation session on voluntary Blood Donor Recruitment (BDR) with the Royal Chiefs of the 11 chiefdoms of Busoga Kingdom. The session also included HRH the Minister of Youth, chiefdom youth ministers, chiefdom mobilizers, and leaders of Basoga Nseete from various universities. The event, which emphasized the importance of blood donation and URCS’s auxiliary role in BDR, took place at the Kingdom headquarters on Bugembe Hill.
The chief guest, representing the Kingdom Prime (Katukiro), was the Busoga Kingdom Minister for Legal Affairs, Owek. Counsel Alex Luganda. Ms. Sarah Mutegombwa, the Program Manager for BDR at URCS, led the URCS team.
Following the orientation, the team will embark on various BDR drives, beginning with the forthcoming Busoga Youth Symposium blood drive at Kigulu Chiefdom on July 11, 2024.
In his address, Owek. Counsel Alex Luganda underscored the critical importance of blood donation, particularly for mothers during childbirth and accident victims. “Everyone could potentially need blood at any moment. That’s why I encourage you all, especially our youth leaders, to support URCS in mobilizing voluntary blood donors at community level. I also urge all eligible donors to participate in the upcoming drives by URCS & UBTS,” Counsel Luganda emphasized.
Counsel Luganda also noted that the ongoing collaboration between URCS and the Busoga Kingdom could could ignite a long-term partnership that the National Society has been eager to establish.
Ms. Sarah Mutegombwa expressed gratitude to the leadership of the Kyabazinga for his support in facilitating life-saving education and voluntary blood donor mobilization. She educated the congregation about URCS’s unique auxiliary role and the benefits of blood donation.
Ms. Mutegombwa concluded by requesting the Kingdom leadership, through Owek. Counsel Luganda, to expedite the formalization of the long-term partnership between the two entities. She emphasized that this partnership would ensure smooth operations and strategic planning, ultimately enhancing efforts to bridge the country’s blood gap more effectively.
