Life-sharing Blood Donation Volunteer Activities Conducted at HWPL Uganda Branch
On March 24th, a volunteer activity was conducted in Nansana, Uganda, called “Instruments to save lives: Peace and Blood Donation.” This event was hosted by HWPL Uganda Branch and the Uganda Blood Transfusion Service (UBTS). 786 Branch members from HWPL participated in donating blood.
According to the statistics of the World Health Organization (WHO), it is recommended that a country have blood equivalent to 1% of the population. However, Uganda has difficulty in supplying blood due to the lack of information about blood donation. In addition, many have the tendency to avoid donating blood due to the cultural and religious issues occurring in Uganda.
The HWPL Uganda branch has continued life-sharing blood donation volunteer work since 2023 until now and announced that they will not stop blood donation service in the future in order to help stabilize the blood supply in the local community.
On the day of the event, the number of HWPL members who came to participate exceeded the number of blood donation seats available, resulting in the blood donation being divided into two sessions in the morning and afternoon. It was noteworthy that everyone waited in an orderly manner despite the long wait. A UBTS official who co-hosted the event said, “I was moved by the sight of young people knowing the preciousness of life and donating blood. We need to nurture young people who know and practice peace, and we must focus on education.”
An official message from the HWPL Uganda branch says, “We would like to express our gratitude to the members who waited and actively participated in blood donation despite the long waiting time due to the large number of participants. We will continue to carry out various peace activities in addition to blood donation in the spirit of peace.”
