On 10th January 2022, the government of Uganda directed all schools and higher institutions of learning to reopen and allow students to study. This followed a decline in COVID-19 infections. Thereafter, the government rolled out a nationwide vaccination exercise in a bid to contain further spread of the coronavirus. It also allowed booster jabs for elderly persons that are above 65 years.
The news to go back to school excited UCC beneficiaries because they had spent over two years without going to school. After receiving this news, UCC management contacted parents and other caretakers informing them about this new development of school reopening.
UCC formal education program coordinator, Stella Nantumbwe, spear headed the process to ensure that all children go to school with all the requirements. Fortunately, majority our children started school as they were really anxious to go back to school and learn. This was a right move by government following several mental health cases that had started to emerge. In order to keep the children focused on education, UCC produced and supplied reading materials to beneficiaries who could not afford to access such materials from government supply chain.
One child Nalubega Martha formerly at Kibuye Primary School dropped from the programme following our failure to locate her family after the lockdown. The girl had Ugandan names but the family was Congolese which migrated to Kampala slums. We suspect after facing economic hardships during the lockdown, they either went back to the refugee camp or relocated to a distant place away from Kampala peri urban.
UCC is providing her services in slum communities which have high levels of mobility due to several factors such as failure to pay rent, lack of permanent jobs, City physical adjustment programmes, increase in incomes, separation in relationships, sickness, death and getting jobs abroad among others. Such communities need well-coordinated teams which ensure frequent outreaches are conducted to motivate both the caretakers and beneficiaries to remain focused on the available service or project in their locality. UCC team is doing this successfully and this approach is continuing to keep the organization attached to the communities served.
Since UCC is not having her own primary and secondary schools, it allows beneficiaries to choose their own schools provided they fulfill the requirements of the Ministry of Education and Sports. This strategy has given chance to UCC staff to traverse several schools within the neighborhoods and far. This approach has provided UCC with enormous information generated through its interaction with school administrators, students and support staff. Such gestures have resulted into strengthening the good relationships between UCC and the administrators. In all these efforts, UCC ensures that its beneficiaries within the schools are known to the administrators and are not disturbed. In case of any information sharing, they can raise the organization directly.
The family of one beneficiary Rodney Ssebulika suffered terribly during the lockdown. The mother who is already sickly with several ailments had a serious attack which almost killed her. The husband abandoned her and left her with three children. The oldest has severe ulcers which has remained disturbing because available drugs have failed to cure it. The second child Rodney is the only child who can provide support to the mother. The third child is the youngest who also needs much support from other family members.
UCC supported this family during the lock down with both food and non-food items to take them through the tough period. However, since the lockdown was expansive especially here in Uganda, the support was a drop in the ocean. UCC staff kept checking on the family with several interventions such as provision of psycho social support and reading materials to keep Rodney focused on his education.
We thank MEM for UCC RECEIVES INTERNATIONAL INTERNS FROM USA continuing to support UCC during these critical times when majority of the community members had lost hope because of lost incomes, closed schools and persistent sicknesses arising out of the lockdowns.
Reopening of schools became a game changer as life was rejuvenated by Government announcement.
Thanks to our children who continued to be focused, candid and optimistic.