An agreed admission date changes the questions. What was “should I go?” becomes “what do I pack, how will my family reach me, and what happens on day one?” This guide answers what we can answer in writing; anything personal to your admission, the team will cover with you when it is arranged.

What to bring

The centre provides your bed and mattress, meals, prescribed medication, mosquito repellent, and drinking water from a dispenser. What you pack is mostly personal:

• Your own bedsheets and a bed cover or blanket.
• Comfortable clothes, enough for your stay, with something warm for evenings.
• Footwear for different parts of the day: everyday shoes, bathroom sandals, and sports shoes or sneakers for exercise and time outdoors.
• Toiletries and hygiene products — see the note below about products that contain alcohol.
• All current medications, in their original labelled packaging, handed to the care team on arrival, along with any medical records or a list of what you take.
• Identification, and your insurance details if you plan to use cover.
• Glasses or contact lenses, and anything else your body relies on daily.
• Notebooks and pens — writing is part of many people’s treatment.
• A refillable drinking-water bottle.

What not to bring

Some things are checked for at admission and are not allowed in the centre:

• Alcohol, non-prescribed drugs, and any substance of concern.
• Perfumes, aftershaves, alcohol-based deodorants, and other toiletries that contain alcohol — this includes some mouthwashes, sanitisers, and aerosols. If one arrives with you, it goes back home with your next of kin, or the administration keeps it safely until your discharge.
• Sharp, cutting, or breakable objects.
• Belts and strings.
• Make-up and accessories.
• Snacks meant to last the stay — meals are provided.
• Electronic gadgets, including radios. Phones and other personal devices are handed in at admission and returned at discharge, or given to your next of kin for safe keeping — family contact runs through the structure below.

Money and valuables are not left in rooms: they are kept by the administration or handed to your next of kin, who signs for them. It is simplest to leave jewellery and anything precious at home.

Arriving

Residential clients live at the Bujjuko centre, about 19 km along Mityana–Fort Portal Road from Kampala. Staff are physically present around the clock, every day. The centre is open every day of the year and admits patients at any hour. Inland transport can be arranged at a cost, and airport pick-up for clients coming from abroad.

Staying in touch with home

Contact with family is structured, and it helps to know the structure before admission rather than discover it after.

Calls. After the first two weeks of residential care, your family can reach you through the administration phone. That number is shared with your next of kin only. The pause follows the individual care plan. Any exception is decided by the administrator and the clinical head, with legal and safeguarding requirements honoured throughout; no exception is automatic.

Visits. Visiting happens on Family Support Programme Day — the first Saturday of each month. The family programme runs from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm, and visiting from 1:00 to 4:00 pm the same day. Visitors are ordinarily your next of kin. Visits from anyone else are agreed with the clinical team under the care plan.

Family sessions. Separately from FSP Day, your care team arranges family sessions as and when needed — in person at Kyambogo or Bujjuko, or virtually, whichever works for your family and the team.

Parcels. Family can drop parcels at the Kyambogo centre and our team delivers them to Bujjuko. Every parcel is checked; anything from the not-allowed list is kept until discharge or returned to your next of kin.

The early quiet is deliberate: the first weeks of treatment need the person’s full attention. Families often find that hard, and the family involvement page is written for exactly that stretch.

How long you will stay

Length of stay depends on what you are being treated for and how your recovery progresses. As a guide: medically supervised detox runs for a minimum of two weeks, longer where clinically needed; addiction rehabilitation runs 90–180 days; residential stays in general range from about two weeks up to 180 days. Your own plan is set at assessment and reviewed as you go.

Day-to-day life

Days at Bujjuko are structured: therapy, group work, meals, rest, and time outdoors. Accommodation is in single and shared rooms, the setting is calm, meals are provided, and spiritual support is available to those who want it — never pressed on those who don’t. Laundry is part of the routine — clients are guided in doing their own washing, with exceptions where the clinical team advises otherwise. Residential admission is from age 18.

Costs

In-patient daily rates currently range from UGX 100,000 to 150,000, confirmed with you at first contact along with payment options and any insurance questions.

Questions this page can’t answer

Anything specific to your situation — medications, work arrangements, who to name as visitors — is better asked than guessed. Call +256 770 700944 or ask when your admission is being arranged.