268:. Upon arriving at the facility, a woman—later identified as Bach—collected him, in an hour dismissed them and said to come back the next day. When they returned, SHC staff drove them to a state-run medical center. They were discharged two days later without any further instructions or medication for her son. SHC staff compensated Kakai with USh.2,000/= (less than $ 1). Her son soon became ill and died three days later. Kakai believed that SHC were responsible for his death. Bach responded by saying that there was no one named Futama who worked for the nonprofit and no records showed him being admitted to SHC. Both mothers supported the claim that Bach was often seen in medical clothing, with a stethoscope.
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pediatric hospital. After word spread of the charity throughout Jinja, a staffer from
Nalufenya asked for Bach's help with their severely malnourished children, leading Bach to turn the house she had rented into a nutrition center wherein these malnourished children could be restored back to health while their parents lived there. The group's mission statement claimed it was "working to end malnutrition in families and communities" and "partner with the government of Uganda to provide inpatient therapeutic care for children suffering from severe acute malnutrition".
180:, and were only permitted by Ugandan law and international guidelines to be treated in a higher-level health center. In 2011, 20 percent of the children in SHC's care died, which some attribute to the lack of trained medical staff at SHC. The death rate dropped to 18 percent the following year, and, after Bach hired two doctors at the nutrition center in 2013, it fell to 10 percent. Gideon Wamasebu, the district health officer of Manafwa, worked with SHC in 2012 and said that it was he, not Bach, who was in charge of overseeing patients at that time.
92:. It was started by Renee Bach in 2009. She at first gave free meals to families in need, then offering free medical treatment for malnourished children along with community support regarding malnourishment. Bach's work has been marred with allegations of recklessness and incompetency. Bach has denied many allegations and stated that she never presented herself as a doctor—as she has no formal training.
121:, to work at a missionary-run orphanage, where she stayed for nine months. After returning from the trip in 2009, Bach stated that she felt "like there was something that was supposed to do", and decided to return to Jinja to start a charity organization through funds raised by local church circles in Bedford, believing it was God's calling for her. She later stated that she traveled to Uganda with a "
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Charles Olweny, the former field manager, raised concerns over the alleged "high death rate": "On average, I would drive at least seven to ten dead bodies of children back to their villages each week." Bach denied this and showed that from 2010 to 2018, 119 deaths out of 3,596 total patients occurred
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and began outpatient treatment services for malnourished children. Community support was later offered. In 2019, Bach stepped down from her role as
Serving His Children's program director, temporarily returning to the United States in a volunteer role to help fundraise for her organization's team in
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in the country. By this time, Bach had stocked the center with medical equipment and had hired several
Ugandan nurses during the day. However, she had hired no doctors, nor had she obtained a health license for the center. Therefore, Bach herself had taken control of much of the care that took place
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Following the first lawsuit, the Uganda
Medical and Dental Practitioners Council conducted an independent investigation. They were "unable to support allegations that children died in large numbers due to the services of S.H.C" and "did not find evidence that Ms. Renée Bach, Director of S.H.C., was
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In July 2020, the lawsuit reached an out-of-court settlement; $ 9,500 to each of the mothers and SHC being deemed not responsible for either child's death. Bach has stated her belief that the lawsuit was the result of personal "vendetta" by former employees and members of the community who disliked
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by the Women's
Probono Initiative, an advocacy group that provides free legal services to women in Uganda. They sought monetary damages for two mothers whose children died in Bach's care, as well as accountability for 105 other cases. They filed the case on a basis of human-rights violations and of
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mentality". Originally based in a home Bach had rented in the Masese district of Jinja, the organization started out by providing neighborhood children free biweekly meals, and the charity eventually came to be called
Serving His Children (SHC). She often drove ill children to Nalufenya, the local
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In 2019, a lawsuit was levelled against her by two mothers who claimed that SHC were responsible for their children's deaths. It was settled in 2020, with each of the mothers receiving around $ 9,500, and with no admission of liability from SHC. Following the first lawsuit, the
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In 2013, Bach's mother was named the director of
Serving His Children. By 2014, it had become a licensed health facility in the Jinja district, though the license expired by the end of the year. The facility was shut down in 2015 following complaints and a two-hour inspection.
324:. Local newspapers in Virginia reported that Bach was accused of actions "leading to the deaths of hundreds of children." Journalists from Ireland, the Netherlands, Germany and Australia were all present in the courtroom. In 2020, a podcast produced by
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and said she also wore a "clinical coat." Bach denied his claim of helping mothers escape, noting that due to his profession as a gardener he had limited contact with the children. She also stated that he was aware that she was not versed in medicine.
260:(roughly US$ 13.50). Zuriah Namutamba, Gimbo's mother, claimed that Bach administered medicine to him and placed him on oxygen. Bach was not in Uganda at the time. Gimbo and other mothers were under the impression that Bach was a trained doctor.
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conducted an independent investigation. They were "unable to support allegations that children died in large numbers due to the services of S.H.C" and "did not find evidence that Ms. Renée Bach, Director of S.H.C., was treating children."
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Former worker Semei Jolley
Kyebanakola claimed that Bach "encouraged mothers to escape" from a children's hospital in Jinja and bring their babies to her facility for treatment instead. He also asserted that she was often seen wearing a
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and glove-wearing, defied local doctors' orders—believing she knew better, and that God would instruct her—carried out various procedures without oversight from a doctor, and based her practice on her "gut feelings" and the book
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have said that they seek to file cases against SHC. In
January 2021, four Ugandan families sued SHC for the deaths of three children; No White Saviors had raised $ 16,000 to pay legal fees for the families.
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The second mother named in the lawsuit, Annet Kakai, said that she was advised, by a woman named Futama, to take her year-old son to a facility for feeding. Before doing so, Kakai was informed that he had
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at the center. According to multiple testimonies from those involved with SHC, Bach purported herself to be a trained medical professional while working at the center, personally administering
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The first mother named in the lawsuit, Zubeda Gimbo, said that a woman affiliated with SHC collected her son for treatment; he died three days later. He had
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reported the death rate in 2011 as 20% and 10% in 2013; from 2010 to 2015, 105 children died out of all total of 940 treated.
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Many of the children brought to SHC were suffering from conditions that the center was not qualified to deal with, including
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Uganda. The following year she said she would no longer practice medicine in Uganda and announced the dissolution of SHC.
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treating children.", and stated that the local community and health workers "were appreciative of her work".
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157:. In a deleted blog post from Bach, she wrote that she administered oxygen to a child whose temperature,
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despite her complete lack of professional training. According to former SHC volunteer and
American
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investigated the story, including interviews with both Bach and Ugandan healthcare workers.
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563:"Renee Bach wasn't a doctor, but she still treated many patients in Uganda, lawsuit says"
693:"U.S. Missionary With No Medical Training Settles Suit Over Child Deaths At Her Center"
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425:"U.S. Missionary With No Medical Training Settles Suit Over Child Deaths At Her Center"
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were checked. The child reportedly received an intravenous drip and blood transfusion.
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593:"American With No Medical Training Ran Center For Malnourished Ugandan Kids. 105 Died"
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a rate of 3.3%, lower than the average 20–30% rate when dealing with malnourishment.
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After the initial lawsuit was filed, the story was reported by international media;
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752:"US missionary faces new legal action over child deaths at Uganda health centre"
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revolving around the story featuring Bach, premiered on September 26, 2023, on
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661:"'White saviourism' under scrutiny after child deaths in Uganda"
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Jacqueline Grace Kramlich, Bach ignored practices including
626:"Did children die because of 'white saviour' Renee Bach?"
390:"Did children die because of 'white saviour' Renee Bach?"
793:"Of Course Renee Bach Defends Herself in Savior Complex"
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Mwesigwa, Alon; Beaumont, Peter (October 17, 2019).
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Aizenman, Nurrith; Gharib, Malaka (August 9, 2019).
226:On January 21, 2019, a lawsuit was filed in the
320:all ran stories. Bach issued a response on the
98:Uganda Medical and Dental Practitioners Council
32:The examples and perspective in this article
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388:Beaumont, Alon Mwesigwa Peter (2019-10-17).
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187:In 2017, SHC, in partnership with Uganda's
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65:Learn how and when to remove this message
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36:include all significant viewpoints
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826:Organizations established in 2009
129:In 2011, SHC was registered as a
88:organization, based in southeast
561:Winsor, Morgan (July 18, 2019).
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331:In 2023, a documentary series
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831:Organisations based in Uganda
500:Levy, Ariel (April 6, 2020).
468:Levy, Ariel (April 6, 2020).
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131:non-governmental organization
750:McCool, Alice (2021-01-22).
723:McCool, Alice (2020-07-28).
242:, a respiratory infection,
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360:Katie Davis (missionary)
154:Where There Is No Doctor
502:"A Missionary on Trial"
470:"A Missionary on Trial"
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233:class discrimination
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78:Serving His Children
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200:Medical activities
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55:January 2021
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604:January 30,
326:iHeartRadio
207:stethoscope
159:blood sugar
111:evangelical
820:Categories
763:2021-01-31
736:2021-01-31
704:2021-01-30
672:2021-01-31
638:October 4,
572:2021-01-30
513:October 5,
481:2021-01-30
409:2021-01-30
366:References
163:hemoglobin
404:0261-3077
174:pneumonia
86:nonprofit
567:ABC News
436:July 25,
354:See also
313:ABC News
299:NBC News
248:diarrhea
222:Lawsuits
34:may not
798:Vulture
240:malaria
170:malaria
105:History
41:Please
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244:anemia
176:, and
119:Uganda
90:Uganda
272:her.
115:Jinja
806:2023
640:2020
606:2021
515:2020
438:2021
400:ISSN
316:and
161:and
698:NPR
598:NPR
430:NPR
339:HBO
290:NPR
252:USh
216:NPR
82:SHC
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