Coronavirus

We hope you and your family are safe and well in these hard and uncertain times. We understand that Coronavirus is touching the lives of everyone so we thought we would update you on how it is affecting the lives of some of Uganda’s most vulnerable.

On 20 March the government of Uganda ordered the immediate closure of schools and public transport leaving many people in a state of fear and confusion. This meant that many of the children in our care and teachers were left stranded at school. Over the following weeks it has become increasingly difficult to access food and there has been a significant rise in violence as the police enforce the lockdown.

If (or possibly when) the virus does spread, there is a significant lack of medical provision to treat those who do get sick – even for those that can afford treatment.

So far at Ekiwumulo the children are safe and being well cared for. Fortunately the site is out of town and relatively isolated, which is helping to protect the children from further spread. Although our team cannot travel together to deliver supplies to the children we are using local drivers to help deliver food and necessities. This will become increasingly difficult as prices rise and we continue to provide for those in our care. By way of illustration the price of Maize flour, the staple diet for most, has increased by 200% since last October.

Our team has also been visiting those children from the school who live in the local community. Here they are finding the greatest need as many are struggling to access food and basic supplies. Adults cannot work, so cannot feed the family. It is in these parts of the community where the pandemic will have the most dramatic impact.

Our team has been doing what they can to deliver supplies, but there is a growing need as food prices increase. The situation has been made worse by recent flooding, which has made access to more remote areas difficult. Whilst the team has made efficient use of the funds at their disposal, they will not last forever.

We are therefore asking supporters to help us raise an initial amount of £10,000 to help continue to provide food and healthcare for those at Ekiwumulo and Ebenezer, as well as urgent supplies to those families of our children in the local community.

We appreciate that the current economic situation may make support difficult – however, any contribution you are able to make would be appreciated.