Uganda Children’s Centre reached out to vulnerable children in Kampala Slums who are still at home due to closure of schools by government after record high numbers of Covid-19 community transmissions. Majority of the children in the slums are unable to access study materials or attend to lessons provided by the government through newspaper pullouts, televisions, radios and phones. Some few private schools provide online teaching but this is benefitting only a small group of children in urban areas whose families are able to afford paying for such services.
Online lessons and other means provided by the government have subjected many children in rural and poor urban areas excluded from learning. Their right to education as a fundamental right has not been equitably observed. Most families in the slums do not have radios and televisions, and a few with such gadgets are unable to pay for power due to high-cost charges. For online learning, negligible numbers of children can afford to have phones or even data to use on their phones. No official subsidized data packages have been provided by the government through telecommunication companies. This has made it hard for learners to access online studies. Even schools which attempted to implement such services to their learners failed because they could not raise a minimum number online. Some private schools have attempted to publish question papers packs which have to be collected by children from school. Such packs can only be got after payment of money to the school. Unfortunately, very minimal number of parents and guardians can afford to pay that amount because most businesses collapsed during COVID-19 especially for people working in the informal sector.
As a child rights organization, the management of UCC found it needful and imperative to provide free learning materials to the children to continue practicing as they wait for school reopening. The families that received the materials were so grateful to UCC for this initiative. At the same time, a jerrican, basin and a mask for each child were added to promote good hygiene and sanitation especially during this critical period of COVID-19. We thank the local leaders, parents and guardians who gave a helping hand during this exercise. SOP measures were strictly observed to ensure no one becomes a victim. Additionally, children welcomed the idea because they really needed the support to overcome temptations related to being redundant. 58 families were reached in the home learning materials distribution in the slums.
When the children complete answering the questions in the booklets, they resend the packs back to UCC through their parents and guardians, or UCC makes arrangements to collect them for marking. Marked work is send back to the children to see their performances plus new packs. This has kept them busy and academically alive during the lockdown exercise. UCC’s other engagement is to have teachers sponsored to mark the work presented by the children. We thank teachers and other volunteers who have supported this exercise.
According to government, primary and secondary schools will resume studies in January 2022 when most people have vaccinated. Initially, the target was to have 4.8 million people before reopening. However, the President increased the target to 7.2 million. Incidentally, the country has received many vaccines under Covax plus others purchased by the government. Now the drive to vaccinate is spreading like wild fire because everyone in all sectors prefers fully opened economy. We thank the government for leading this drive which is characterized by introduction of multiple vaccination centres across the country including bars, schools and community centres among others. Many people especially the youth have fully responded to the drive and majority have at least attained the first dose. UCC and other child rights focused organizations are really happy for this drive and continue with their activities to have children learn despite staying at home.
Former street children rescued from Kampala streets during the first lockdown in Uganda in May 2020 have eventually completed their industrial training apprenticeship. Kampala Capital City Authority worked with various NGOs to get children off the streets of Kampala whose lives were in danger after every sector closed due to the lockdown as a result of Covid-19. The children’s future was foreseen to suffer from various tragedies if not given immediate attention by the duty bearers. Some of the projected social effects included hunger, escalated abuse of drugs and substances, crime, diseases including Covid-19 among others. However, no chance was given to such eventualities, arrangements were put in place and several children were rescued and placed with organizations with reputable child protection services. UCC received 62 children who got equipped with marketable trade skills and entrepreneurial knowledge ready to apply in enterprises when lockdown ceases.