The Covid 19 pandemic started its effect on Uganda in March 2020, where we saw the whole country on lockdown as declared by the president of Uganda. There were restrictions in movements and many services in the country, including those we offer, came to a standstill.
These sudden changes left most of our children with no access to medical care, food and other support services and as a result there were reports of children with disabilities dying due to hunger and missed medication/reviews. There was also a significant increase in defilement, abuse and neglect of children and young adults with disabilities.
The Trust sought permission from the Ministry of Health to start an “emergency response” to the needs of these children and their families. This included transporting children to hospitals, providing medical care and medicine for those with chronic conditions, provision of food, emergency rescue, care for sexually abused children and ensuring that they got the justice they deserved by working with the police to ensure that the perpetrators were apprehended and that justice was served. These efforts were later joined by other organisations, individuals and government entities such as Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) to form a Covid-19 emergency rescue committee for children with disabilities.
4,320 children were reached with different services in the districts of Kampala, Wakiso, Mpigi, Luwero, Nakasongola, Masaka, Jinja,and Napak in Karamoja (some still get nutritional and medical support as their families have not yet recovered from the effects of the pandemic).
Special thanks go to the following for their assistance and partnership during the time of this emergency response:
- Children at Risk Action Network ( CRANE)
- Father’s Heart Ministries
- Gem Foundation
- Kampala Capital City Authority
- The Deaf Alliance
- Shynea Uganda
- Our Donors, friends and well-wishers
Throughout the past two years of the pandemic, we have been able to resume some operations in Therapy, including Pysio, Occupational and Speech Therapy, as well as sensory stimulation and behaviour training. We have also been able to provide educational resources in the form of ‘Workbooks’ that parents could easily use at home with their children, home tutoring and online zoom classes.