American Renee Bach wasn’t a doctor, but she still treated seriously ill children in Uganda, according to a lawsuit.
Renee Bach was still a teenager when she left her small hometown in rural Virginia and moved halfway across the world to Uganda, after spending just 10 months there on a mission trip.
But a lawsuit filled with sweeping accusations that was filed in Uganda earlier this year tells a different story, claiming that Bach, who has no formal medical training, diagnosed and treated children while running an unlicensed medical facility there, leading to the deaths of"hundreds of children."
"This hurts Renee, obviously, and what she's done with Serving His Children," the attorney told ABC News in a recent telephone interview."But the ultimate victims in this are the malnourished children in Uganda that aren't able to receive services when these types of lies and misinformation are put forward, and it is very disruptive and it's very unfortunate."
The Women's Probono Initiative said it is seeking accountability and the enforcement of human rights, as well as monetary damages for the two mothers who lost their children. Alonyo Constance Milech, a midwife who has been working as the head nurse at Serving His Children since 2010, said in an affidavit that Twalali suffered from"acute malnutrition associated with severe malaria" and was"given the best care possible."
"I feel his life was snatched from my arms by the actions of Ms. Renee Bach," Kakai said in a statement released by the Women's Probono Initiative."I hope the court can give me justice." In an affidavit filed in response to Kyebanakola's claims, Bach said she never encouraged mothers and their children to escape from hospitals. Bach also said that, as a gardener and later an agriculturist, Kyebanakola had limited contact with children and mothers at the center, and he was"fully aware" she was not a medical worker because she always introduced herself as the organization's program director, according to the court documents.
"I saw several children dying at the facilities," Olweny added."On average, I would drive at least seven to 10 dead bodies of children back to their villages each week." In an affidavit filed in response to Olweny's claims, Bach said that any deaths that occurred at Serving His Children were"normal as a result of severe acute malnutrition at advanced stages or underlying medical conditions complicated by malnutrition." Speaking to ABC News, Bach said there were times when her staff received children who were very ill and needed to be transferred to a hospital for treatment but died on the way there.
Kramlich, who is now working in Washington state, said she observed Bach attempt to diagnose and treat pediatric patients who apparently showed symptoms frequently associated with serious ailments, including severe acute malnutrition, tuberculosis, HIV and AIDS, malaria and heart failure.
Kramlich said Bach"gave orders to her nursing staff who were employed there at the time" and"would override their judgement [sic] and decisions on a regular basis," according to the court documents.
Speaking to ABC News, Bach said"death summary reports" were provided to the families who were then expected to file the documents with local authorities. Bach also said that Kramlich has had no personal knowledge of Serving His Children's operations since she stopped volunteering in late 2011. Bach said Serving His Children was in the process of renewing the license at the time of the inspection. Later that month, the Resident District Commissioner of Jinja wrote a letter of recommendation for Serving His Children to renew its license.
The allegations have ignited claims that Bach was playing the role of a"white savior" by moving to Uganda with no formal medical training and starting an organization that ultimately began caring for sick children. "I definitely went to Uganda with, you know, the mindset of a white savior," Bach said."I think it's impossible to say that any person coming from a developed country, such as America, going to a place that would be considered underdeveloped, such as Uganda, wouldn't have a bit of a white savior complex. You know, your desire is to help."
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