Coronavirus in Uganda: Update on school closures
April 2020
Due to the coronavirus being detected in Uganda recently, all schools have been closed down for at least a month in order to keep the children safe. This was a directive from the Ugandan government.
There is concern that some children may lack sufficient food at home as many relatives/families may not have sufficient food for the children. It is difficult to obtain precise information about this as freedom of movement is severely restricted and transport not allowed in the Ugandan lockdown.
Despite these major difficulties our people in Uganda are trying hard to reach parents/relatives to ensure children are kept safe, are encouraged to wash their hands regularly, avoid eye/face contact with hands, eat clean food and ensure adequate food is available for them. If the children are concerned about their symptoms, they have been told to report this to a responsible adult. This is now Easter holiday time for the children in Uganda.
The latest information we have is that Pre-Primary schools, Primary schools and Secondary schools will resume term when it is safe to do so, which we hope will be soon. The first term will end on 12th June 2020, the second term will start on 22nd June and end on 4th September 2020. The third term will start on 21st September 2020 and end on 19th December 2020. Universities and Tertiary Institutions will resume semester on 2nd May 2020. All this is subject to the children being safe from the virus in schools and also any updates from the Government through the Ministry of Education and Sports.
Normally, during school holidays, the children return to their parents/relatives who train them in local skills around the home and they see other family members who may not be able to visit them at school. Most of the holidays are for 2-3 weeks and children are brought back immediately when term starts. During the school holidays, where children are orphaned, they stay either with a relative, another responsible adult, or are looked after at our EVC schools. Parents/relatives are encouraged to contribute what they can to our schools and to play an active part in their children’s education.
Wherever we practically can, we are working to meet their needs through this difficult period and are in regular, often daily contact with our administrators, to provide any practical help and guidance. They have contacted many of the children by mobile phone, and thankfully, there is no recorded sickness to date. Many children have enough to eat as the families have the food they have grown, such as maize, cassava, sweet potatoes and some matooke, however, the amount of food available may lessen as time goes on. They have reached many families, but some are far away and so they have been unable to contact them or send food.
With term starting later than originally expected, as far as is humanly possible, we will now work with our administrators to ensure the children receive the food they need and which they would have had on their return to school. Of the £240 EVC annual child sponsorship, 20% is allocated to the child’s food, that is, £48. Therefore, the EVC schools have the funds to provide food for these children during the lockdown period, however long that may be. To this end, our administrators will work hard to take the food to the children as much as walking/transportation will permit. They and we are doing everything we reasonably can to support the children during this lockdown.
If you have any questions regarding the above, please contact Ted Fawcett, Chairman, or Judi Fawcett, Trustee Responsible for Child Sponsorship on 01234 838134 or send us a message through our Contact Form.
Please see our July Update for more information on the lockdown situation.
