Joys of Rotary Work in Africa

Scott Kellermann, MD, is a graduate of Tulane School of Medicine where he also received his Master’s in Public Health and Tropical Medicine.  He currently serves as Adjunct Professor and Medical Director at the University of San Francisco School of Nursing and Health Professions.  He has published articles in professional journals of medicine on such topics as the Zika and monkey pox viruses, and on public health in Africa, especially in the Bwindi region of Uganda where he founded Bwindi Community Hospital.  He is the recipient of several awards and distinctions such as Rotary International’s “Service Above Self” award (2013), the Dalai Lama’s “Unsung Heroes of Compassion” (2014), Tulane School of Public Health’s Alumnus of the Year (2016), the Fulbright Scholar award (2018), the AMA’s Nathan Davis Award for International Service (2018).

Scott lives with his wife Carol in Nevada City, California, where they have received the support of friends and associates through their more than twenty years of service in southwest Uganda. They have two children and five grandchildren, all of whom have participated in different ways in this work of care and compassion.  Scott returns to Uganda often to practice medicine at Bwindi Community Hospital, lecture at Uganda Nursing School Bwindi, visit his many friends from the Batwa tribe, and encourage his Ugandan colleagues as they continue to serve and heal.

Dr. Birungi Mutahunga R. Edwin, Former Director Bwindi Community Hospital

Dr. Birungi is an enthusiastic, highly adaptable Ugandan Public Health specialist with vast experience in strategic management. He holds a diploma in Health Systems Management from Galilee International Management Institute, Israel (2012); Master of Science degree in Public Health from the University of London, UK (2010) and a Bachelor of Medicine & Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) degree from Makerere University, Uganda (2006), diploma in clinical medicine and community health, School of Clinical Officers Fort portal (1997). 

He has served as Executive Director at Bwindi Community Hospital in Uganda’s South Western district of Kanungu, ranked by the Uganda Protestant Medical Bureau the best performing hospital for nine consecutive years. Dr. Biruni received the prestigious 2011 STARS Foundation health impact award for Africa and Middle East regions, Maama Alive Initiative (Uganda) Public health impact award 2014, Grand challenge Canada innovation award 2017 and Social Innovation in Health Initiative award, 2018.  Birungi is currently a doctorate student of Business Administration, corporate strategy jointly offered by Paris School of Business, France and Galilee International Management Institute, Israel.