Greetings

Hanfred Spirgatis (Inhaber HS Optikmaschinen, Vorsitzender Bazungu e.V.)

My attention was concentrated to Uganda and the problems of the people living there via lens production – soon the initial passive Sponsoring became an active personal engagement which is fulfilled by the wishes to help viscous projects to the necessary sustainable success. The first step was the training of young Ugandans in the optical craft, the next project purpose the building of the Eye Care Centre Kayunga. The continuous advancement of the project is very important for me personally. I thank all who have contributed up to now to the success of this project and would be pleased to win more new friends for Uganda.

Prof. Dr. Daniel Pauleikhoff

The Ophthalmic Clinic of St. Franziskus Hospital as well as the whole St. Franziskus Hospital support the efforts of the Kayunga project intensively to improve the treatment of eye diseases in Uganda. This support encloses, above all, assistance with the interpretation of diagnostic and therapeutic findings. As the medical-ophthalmologic diagnosis and therapeutic possibilities are at very good level in Uganda thanks to the support of the Kayunga association, many patients can be adequately treated on site. In addition, specific, only in the Western industrial nations existing therapeutic possibilities can be offered in particular cases. Furthermore it is planned to offer the advanced training of Ugandan ophthalmologists in special investigation procedures in Münster.
The totality of the different excellent initiatives of the Kayunga project together with the additional support by our hospital and our department shall thus promote the ophthalmologic care in Uganda. We wish all these initiatives a lot of success and intensive support by the general public.
For the Ophthalmic Clinic of St. Franziskus Hospital
Prof. Dr. Daniel Pauleikhoff


To whom it may concern

Dear Sir or Madam,
The company HS Optikmaschinen in Rosendahl-Holtwick/Germany and the organisation Bazungu e.V. are well known to the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Kampala for years. With great interest we are following the activities of the company and we were able to assure ourselves of the progresses and sustainability of the sponsored projects. The main issues of project promotion lie in the fields health and education. Therefore the activities of the company and its partners are mainly involved in projects for the improvement of medical care and vocational training. General aim is the improvement of the economic and social situation in Eastern Africa.
Owner of the company and Chairman [of Bazungu e.V.] at the same time is Mr. Hanfred Spirgatis, whose personal activities for the benefit of needy Ugandans are considered by the Embassy to be extremely remarkable and are worthy of great admiration.
Refractive errors and eye diseases are widespread in Uganda, but they can rarely be treated. For one million Ugandans, only one ophthalmologist is available. Many Ugandans are suffering from cataracts and need an operation urgently. The project Eye Care Centre Kayunga/Uganda is qualified to an extremely high degree to fulfil the main idea of HS Optikmaschinen, that means to establish working self help structures in Uganda which will be adopted and run by locals on a self reliant basis later on. In the newly built-up eye care centre rooms for eye testing and treatments as well as workshops for producing spectacles were created. The vocational training of young Ugandans in optics is conducted both in Rosendahl-Holtwick and directly in Uganda.
At present the ophthalmic treatment is principally performed by Europeans, more difficult operations are performed in affiliated hospitals.
Now new possibilities result from the cooperation of HS Optikmaschinen with the Ophthalmic Clinic of St. Franziskus-Hospital in Münster [Germany] both for the performance of ophthalmic operations in Uganda by ophthalmologists of St. Franziskus-Hospital and the training of Ugandan physicians in Germany, as well as for the exploration of less known eye diseases. St. Franziskus-Hospital will perform free operations of complicated eye diseases and injuries, which cannot be treated here in Africa, directly in Münster.
The German Embassy Kampala considers this cooperation as deserving aid to an extremely high degree. We are absolutely convinced of the partners’ trustability. Therefore the Embassy would appreciate the fact that the cooperation project between HS Optikmaschinen and St. Franziskus-Hospital Münster [Germany] would find the attention due to it as well as financial aid.
Holger Seubert (signee)