Dr Precious Mlingo is the Health Centre Manager of the new AAR Ntinda Clinic. She was previously working as a doctor at the AAR Accacia clinic. At 29, she has over 5 years’ medical working experience in both clinical and non-clinical settings.

What is your earliest memory?

My earliest memory probably goes back when I was 3years. I had a friend and neighbour with whom I played. Her face is quite foggy but I remember we would play under the shade of a mango tree pretending that we were doing laundry and ironing.

What did you study at university?

I have a Bachelor’s degree in Medicine and Surgery. I am currently a registered student at University of Manchester for Masters in Public Health Experience.

What inspires you?

As a Christian, I derive most of my inspiration from the word of God. Bible Scriptures keep me going day by day basis. Whenever I feel discouraged, I remind myself of the bible verses that remind me that I can make it.

Are you married?

Yes, I have been happily married for the last 4 years.

Any children?

That is a stage that we are looking at crossing pretty soon. When you have all this activity taking place you know, school, work and all the pressure you want to finish first things first then look towards other challenges.

Before joining AAR, Where were you working?

Before joining AAR Uganda I was working on a consultancy basis with the Adventist Development and Relief Agency Rwanda and on a voluntary basis with World Vision Rwanda.

What is you specialty

I’m currently working as a General Practitioner and Health Centre Manager for the AAR Ntinda clinic which involves a lot of administrative work. I have to handle all the administrative duties of running a clinic as well as attend to some of the walk in patients.

Any advice

“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might.”This a paraphrased verse from the bible which literally means that we need to give our heart to everything we do ,be it in our jobs or personal lives. Life does not usually give us a second chance to do things differently; the time to start is now.

What book s do you recommend others to read?

As an avid reader, there are several books that I would definitely recommend. Top of my list would be Malcolm Gladwell’s books: - ‘The Tipping Point’, ‘Blink’ and most especially ‘Outliers’. Malcolm Gladwell is a philosopher who prompts his readers to ponder upon issues that seem ordinary and yet manage to delve deep into them that they don’t seem so ordinary anymore.

Tell me about your mother and father - what were they like?

I will start with my mother as most people do. She was a strong woman emotionally, spiritually and very passionate in everything she did. I take after her in that respect. She was very easy to talk to though she was the disciplinarian in the family. My mother worked as a senior secretary in the Zimbabwean’s president’s office for many years before she retired. My dad is the quiet rock of the family. He has a quiet, calm authority about him. He is the type of man who would engage us as his children and took keen interest in everything we did. He was also quite democratic in the way he dealt with us. As children growing up we felt free to approach him and politely disagree with him on certain issues. He was always willing to take our opinions into consideration. Professionally he also did quite well for himself and at the time of his retirement he held a senior level management post at a well known bank.

Who had the greatest influence on you during your childhood?

That has to be my dad. I never thought for a minute I’d become a doctor, I always thought I’d follow in my dad’s footsteps and become a banker. I don’t know what fascinated me about his job and the way he carried himself around in his suits and shiny shoes!

Do you remember your first day at medical school?

Oh yes, I will never forget that day. I got to University and I was the only student from my former High School. Most of my colleagues had decided to either study abroad or universities elsewhere. Not knowing anyone there I made the bold step of knocking on my neighbour’s door and introduced myself. We have been good friends since that day. On the academic side, we had to go through the gruesome experience of viewing dead bodies. If you were able to stomach that then they figured out that you could stomach pretty much anything else in your career. I must admit a few of my colleagues dropped out on that very day.

What was your first personal experience with death?

It was in high school when one of my friends passed away. She was a very lovely girl everybody liked her. Her death happened so suddenly and at first we could not quite comprehend what had happened. I remember we were sitting for our end of term examinations and we got the news just before we entered the examination room. We had quite a difficult time concentrating during the examination time.

What one word would you use to describe yourself?

Perfectionist

What one word would your friends use to describe you?

Organised

Your Passion in life?

Creativity, I just love it. In my free time I do some creative designing.

If you could change one thing in your past, what might that be?

That’s a tough one; I think I would have tried harder to enjoy everything life threw my way. It is only years later that you realize that everything comes to pass whether good or bad. So seizing every moment and making the best of it.

What do you dislike most in others?

I dislike dishonesty. Dishonesty breaches trust. Trust is the basic foundation in any relationship. Once that has been breached a relationship cannot take off.

What do you like most about your job? What do you like least?

My job allows me to interact with many people from different walks of life. I enjoy talking to people and solving their problems where I can. On the negative side, in my profession we are faced with sickness and the reality of death on a daily basis. There are times when I have bonded so well with my patients and sadly due to the nature of their illness they succumb to it. In such instances one feels so helpless and it may be quite difficult to deal with such situations.

Would you want your children to be like you when they grow up?

Well, I guess I have to get them first. I want them to grow up in the fear of the Lord and be very hard working. I would love my children to follow their dreams because many people are stuck in professions that they don’t enjoy. I would want my children to love what they do.

AAR Health centres Acacia Health Centre Plot 6, Makindu Close off Windsor Crescent KololoOpen 24hours.0716-155512

AAR City Health centre 2nd floor Eco Bank Plaza Building,Parliament Avenue, opposite Mateo’s.8am-7pm Mon to Friday 8am- 2pm on Saturday 10am-4pm on Sunday.0716-555800

Bugolobi Health Centre AAR Bugolobi Clinic, 5th Street Industrial Area8am-7pm Mon to Friday8am- 2pm on Saturday0716-259407

AAR Business Centre Clinic1st Floor Dream Plaza, Nakivubo Road(Next to Equity bank, former Container village)8am-7pm Mon to Friday 8am- 2pm on Saturday

0716-236217

AAR Gulu Health Centre Plot 10, Queens Avenue (next to Post Bank Gulu) 8am-9pm Mon to Friday. 8am- 4pm on Saturday. 11am-2pm on Sunday.0716-247352

AAR Ntinda Health centre 1st Floor, Bank of Africa Building, Ntinda Road.Near Ntinda Police station

Kansanga Health Centre Ground floorCavendish University Building, Gaba Road.Opposite the American Embassy.