2021 Round-up
By Harriet Hardwick, Amana UK secretary trustee
This year has been a strange one.
Covid-19 has made some big changes in Uganda. We have had to adapt a lot as a charity.
In Feb 2021 the schools started back after the initial national lockdown was lifted. Primary 7 had been back for a few weeks and they were boarding and studying for their exams in March. They all did very well and got grade 1 or 2. We are currently waiting to see which secondary schools they will go to in January. Not all school years went back to school so learning groups were formed in the villages. Teachers and work were brought to the groups and the children were able to get some education though this. The years that didn’t go back were Nursery, Primary 1,2,3 and Senior 1 and 2. They had a teacher for 3-4 hours a day and also got food. The sponsorship money that usually paid school fees have not been sent to the schools as they were closed. The money was used to pay the teachers and print off the materials needed. It also paid for food that they children could take home to feed themselves and their families. The aim of the village groups was to teach 3 terms worth of material in 8 weeks so the children could take their promotional exams so they can move up next year. Unfortunately with the schools being closed they were not able to take their exams.
After the virtual visit in 2020 Winnie had most vulnerable children come and live with her. There were 8 in total. Not all stayed with her through the whole lockdown but some are still living with her now.
On 7th June Uganda went into another lock down. There was a huge upsurge of Covid cases and deaths. During the lockdown in July many families fled the towns and cities to get away from the Covid. Obviously, this caused it to spread into the villages and many people in their communities died. In Soroti a lot of the community leaders and even doctors and nurses have died. To this date there has been 126,676 confirmed cases and 3274 deaths reported to WHO. There were probably many more as Uganda did not have the medical facilities to treat and test everyone with Covid. The lock down was meant to have been for 42 days but it is still going on today. They have been in lockdown for 168 days. Some of the restrictions have been lifted but schools will not be going back until January. Jairus has had to get special written permission to travel and visit children.
During lock down the children have been stuck at home trying to home school. There has been a lot of concern about the children metal health due to an increase in child suicides. Jairus has been checking on the children’s mental health and it was one of the questions as during this years Health Review. Many are frustrated and want to start back at school but with the support they have received the children seem to be doing well under the circumstances.
All have been helping with work in the house and the garden, but some have used this time to learn a new skill.
- Phelistus and Priscilla have learnt to make sandals. They learnt to use a sewing machine to make shoes out of leather and recycled car tires for the bottom of the sandals. They have been able to sell them to help with money at home.
- William, one of the older boys has joined a government program to do data collection.
- Israel has been very enterprising and has set up his own business making and selling chapatis at the trading centre
- Helen grace has learnt to make clothes. Her sister taught her, and she has been making clothes for herself.
- Ben has learnt carpentry not been able to sell anything yet
- A few of the children were helping their parents at their shops selling fruit, clothes and bike parts.
This year we have had to overcome some challenges. Our biggest challenge was keeping touch with all the children. The children whose families have gone to the villages far away have been difficult to keep in touch with. Winnie has been working hard at maintaining contact with these families. Because of the distance they have not had access to the food supplied by the project. Most have had adequate food (at least 1 meal a day) from their crops. The good news is that children’s families have started coming back Soroti as the number the of cases have come down and the school will open soon.
We had some big decisions for charity this year. Our most significant decisions were:
- Early in the year Goshen school had their motorbike stolen. Jairus had been using the bike to deliver food and work to the study groups in the villages. Goshen decided that it did not need a motorbike. It was decided after much discussion that we would get a new and better motorbike in the charities name to help with all the traveling Jairus needed to do to keep an eye on the children. It became very important later as Uganda went into another lock down and more families moved to the village.
- In April it was decided that we needed regular meetings with Ikoku yen to discuss the changes happening in Uganda and to make sure that all the children were being cared for. Communication is easier face to face, and we have had some positive results because of these meetings. During these meeting we have been able to give more support to Winnie and Jairus during this difficult time. We want to continue the meetings even after the pandemic as it has had such a positive outcome.
We had our virtual visit over 3 separate dates in September and October, and you will be receiving your health reviews in the new year. Some will look very similar to last year as they have not done much during lockdown. Other of the children have had some real challenges and we have been working with Winnie and Jairus to make sure that these children are safe and well cared for. The school years have not changed as the children did not take their promotional exams and schools are not sure what class children will be put in. At the moment the decision is that all children will be promoted to the next school class without promotional exams. A few of our older children have been thinking about changing their plan of staying at school to vocational training rather than go to college and university. Primary 7 are currently waiting for the schools to go back to know what secondary school they will be able to go to. Senior 1 never started any classes in 2020-2021 so it has been decided that there will be 2 sets of Senior 1 classes. The cohort of 2020 and the cohort of 2021. Because of this, many secondary schools are now full and there is strong competition for available places. The new Primary 7 at Goshen are now using online learning until they are able to go to school. This means they will have the best opportunity to pass their national exams.
Though this year has been very challenging we believe we have done the best we could in our situation and our partners in Uganda have worked tirelessly to ensure all our children we safe. Our aim for the rest of 2021 and the beginning of 2022 is to make sure that the children receive regular food and education. We hope that we can get them ready for school in January. This will mean ensuring the older children are vaccinated so they can attend college and the younger children have school places.
The Amana UK and Ikoku Yen Africa trustees want to thankyou all for your support this year. It has meant so much to the children that you have stood by them during the lockdowns providing the food and education that their government was unable to give. As always, we will keep you updated on any changes but we hope and pray Uganda will soon be back to school in January.
published: January 2022