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Lenny Henry meets his namesakes – newborn twins Lenny and Henry.
After officially opening the newly refurbished Iyolwa clinic, comedian Lenny Henry met its newest residents – two-day old twins Lenny and Henry.
Thanks to Operation Health for Comic Relief, the clinic in Eastern Uganda has been transformed in just two months from a run-down, dilapidated building into a fully functioning medical facility.
Among the grateful staff at the clinic is Nurse Martha, who was pregnant with twins when Lenny first visited in November to tell the team that the clinic would be transformed.
As the final preparations for the opening ceremony were being made last week, Martha gave birth to healthy twin boys, and named them Lenny and Henry – after the comedian who arrived in their lives and told them that they would be changed forever.
Lenny said: “Never in my wildest dreams did I think a baby in Uganda would be named after me, Lenny from Dudley, never mind two. Welcome to the world Lenny and Henry. It is fantastic that these two, and all the other residents of Iyolwa, now have a fully functioning clinic to rely on when they are sick, injured or in need of medical care.”
Staff had been doing their best for years, working at the clinic with no power or running water, a ceiling on the verge of collapse, rodent and insect infestations and medical equipment that was outdated and inadequate. Following the renovation it is now clean and safe with running water, has a well-equipped maternity clinic, incubators, a sterilizer, solar panels and light switches.
