Bwindi Community Hospital

Before the Hospital

What life looked like without healthcare

No clinic. No pharmacy. No ambulance. No trained medical professional within a day's walk. The communities around Buhoma — farming families on steep hillsides, displaced Batwa on the forest margins — had no access to modern healthcare of any kind.

Women gave birth at home, attended by traditional midwives whose experience was invaluable but whose resources were limited. When a delivery went wrong — hemorrhage, obstructed labor — there was nowhere to go. The nearest hospital was in Kabale, roughly 100 kilometers away on roads often impassable during the rainy season.

Children died of malaria, pneumonia, and diarrheal diseases — conditions treatable with basic medicine but fatal without it. The Batwa, displaced from the forest and cut off from their traditional medicinal plants, were hit hardest.

The same mountains that drew tourists to see gorillas kept an entire population locked out of basic medical care.

Dr. Kellermann and the Beginning

From research project to lifeline

Dr. Scott Kellermann first came to Buhoma in the late 1990s as a public health researcher studying the Batwa displacement. What he found was a community in medical crisis — not just the Batwa, but everyone.

With his wife Carol, he began providing basic care from a small structure near Buhoma. Patients walked for hours to reach him. What started as research became a mission, and the mission became a hospital.

The hospital was not parachuted in from outside. It was built with the community, by the community, for the community. Local people were involved in governance from the start. Staff were recruited and trained from surrounding villages — creating a healthcare system rooted in local knowledge.

What the Hospital Does Today

Comprehensive care for 100,000+ people

The maternal health program has been particularly transformative. Pregnant women are identified early, encouraged to deliver at the hospital, and supported through antenatal and postnatal care. Maternal mortality in the catchment area has dropped dramatically — a quiet revolution measured in lives saved.

Training the Next Generation

Perhaps the hospital's most lasting contribution is its investment in training. Local community health workers learn skills that stay in the community permanently.

Some staff who started as community volunteers have gone on to formal medical training and returned to serve — creating a pipeline from village volunteer to trained professional.

Tourism and the Hospital

An uncomfortable but important connection

The same national park that displaced the Batwa and created a health crisis also brought an economic lifeline. Gorilla trekking visitors spend money that flows toward community health. Several lodges actively support the hospital through partnerships and guest donations.

The hospital welcomes visitors. A tour — arranged through your lodge — shows the operating theater, maternity ward, and laboratory. You understand, in a concrete and immediate way, what healthcare means in a place where geography is the enemy. The gift shop sells crafts made by local artisans, with proceeds supporting health programs.