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 on movements and many services in the country, including those we offer at SCT and everything 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 receive nutritional and medical support as their families have not yet recovered from the effects of the pandemic).