Meharry Pediatricians Bring Healing and Hope to Uganda

In June 2025, Meharry Medical College pediatricians Dr. Kimberlee Wyche-Etheridge and Dr. Susanne Tropez-Sims joined The Giving Circle on a two-week medical mission trip to Jinja, Uganda, providing care, education, and supplies to hundreds of people. As part of a 23-member volunteer team, they helped treat nearly 400 patients, from newborns to the elderly, often working without advanced equipment. Their care ranged from managing severe asthma with improvised tools to connecting infants with specialists and coordinating treatment for widespread conditions such as ringworm.

Beyond clinical work, the team supported local dignity and wellness efforts by donating scrubs, supplying menstrual hygiene products, and testing creative sanitation solutions. Both physicians were moved by the community’s resilience, joy, and gratitude, especially moments of cultural connection and shared humanity.

The experience reinforced the value of practicing medicine with ingenuity and compassion, and both Meharry physicians hope to expand opportunities for Meharry students to participate in future global health mission trips to Uganda.