So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
– Isaiah 41:10
This update might be a bit long, but it is filled with beautiful and hard stories of families and caregivers we have come alongside of during this time. Without your generous donations, prayers, and continued support, this would not be possible. Thank you once again for being a blessing and the answer to someone’s prayers.
Written by Claude, A+H Social Worker
As much as the Government of the Republic of Uganda is working hard in fighting the Covid-19 Pandemic, truck drivers from neighboring countries (Tanzania, Kenya, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo) continue posing a big threat to Uganda. The economy is brought down to its knees in attempts to defeat the pandemic.
The effects of the Covid-19 Pandemic have continued to affect the lives of the people all over the country, especially the common man. Though the Government is giving relief aid in the form of food, this is yet to be seen in the rural areas of Uganda. In some points, people have started going against the restrictions set by the Government. Boda Boda drivers deliver their services past the designated time, others carry passengers (which is totally prohibited), and small local markets have been established against Government rules. All these are done in a bid to raise enough money to buy essential items while in the lockdown. Some people have ended up in police cells for violating the guidelines, charged for attempted murder.
The major problem is finding food. Most of the people in both rural and semi-urban areas do not have vegetables. Their normal ways of earning have been disrupted by the current restrictions by the Government and World Health Organization to stop the spread of Covid-19. Some see it as a deliberate move by the Government to violate their human rights, while to others, it is life.
Since Arrows + Hope raised some funds for the acquisition of food items for the most vulnerable and affected children during this difficult time, we were able to support some families as listed below, as well as others:
This is one of the most vulnerable families in our community. Sarah is the mother of five children. She has been earning income through various tasks such as washing dishes and clothes in other people’s homes and restaurants. Her daughter, Esther, is sponsored by Arrows + Hope. HIV-positive and on ARV medication since childhood, Esther is not spared by the effects of the current pandemic.
When I visited her family, they had not eaten anything since the previous day. Taking medicine in an empty stomach is dangerous for anyone with such status. We provided posho, beans, sugar, cooking oil, salt, and soap to her family. Their faces were lit with joy and happiness. “We are going to have a proper meal today! Everything has been difficult for us,” Sarah said. “God bless the hands that have contributed these essentials for us,” Esther added.
Miriam’s mother has 11 children and is HIV-positive, a scourge which claimed the life of the second man she was living with. The father to her youngest two kids died in a road accident while traveling to the market in a truck carrying cattle.
Doing casual work in other people’s homes, markets, restaurants, and gardens has been the only source of income for this woman. She acts in the position of both man and woman of the house, the sole breadwinner. The situation gets complicated when she does not go for such errands. Every morning, Miriam has to be on the lookout for what to do so that her children can have food. Very often, they sleep on empty stomachs.
When we visited the family, they had not had any food since the previous day. The youngest two children were very sick. The mother had just returned from the hospital and she did not know where she would start from. We provided posho, beans, soap, cooking oil and a packet of salt to this family. Before long, beans were put on fire. The sadness vanished from their faces and was immediately replaced by happiness.
Joan is a sponsored child from Omalera. She stays with her grandmother, who is HIV- positive. The grandmother is taking care of five family members, amd thanks to the almighty God, she harvested enough food to have bread in her household. However, finding vegetables is not an easy task now. The effects of Covid-19 are difficult. Markets are closed where one would take some little produce to sell, and since no one can hire for casual labor, normal work for many has been disrupted. She thanked the donor community and Arrows + Hope for helping her family with food and non-food items they need.
This family was blessed to receive an assortment of food items from Arrows + Hope. Martha is 27 years old and a mother of three, plus another child relative. When you step into her compound, you do not need to be told how life is in her household, or that hunger is a commonplace. Though she has a small shop within her compound, chaos does not cease since it is a shared with one friend of theirs. She is subject to domestic violence; her husband has left all responsibility on her. The man is trying to throw her and the four children out of the house. She must go back to her paternal home, the man said. She could not control tears from flowing when we delivered a pack of food to her family.
There are 10 members in this family, living on a borrowed piece of land. The family was driven away from the land they inherited from their forefathers, crops destroyed and houses broken down. The wife decided to take her husband and their eight children to her parents, where they were shown a plot to erect their home and do some agriculture. Though they have the desire to cultivate big portions of land to support their family, such land is not available. Renting land to cultivate crops would be the only alternative, but they cannot raise the required amount of money to rent an acre of land. The husband sells firewood in Soroti town nowadays. Feeding 10 members in one household is not an easy task.
Bena’s Family
Bena’s family is currently affected and trying to earn a living by selling firewood in Soroti. Every morning, her guardian rides a bicycle loaded with 2-3 bundles of firewood for sale to feed seven members in this family. However, due to the current difficulties, the guardian is forced to find new ways to push on with life and preserve his family.
This family of five lives on less than an acre of land. The land is in poor shape since the small plot is cultivated year in, year out. Intercropping is the form of agriculture on this size of land. Throughout the year, this widow and her children go out working on other people’s gardens in order to raise funds for their essentials. However, Covid-19 has disrupted the normal pattern of life; people do not hire casual laborers now, and the economic situation is falling apart. This mother’s earning options have reduced drastically. “Beans and Posho is a delicacy for my children,” she said. “This food has come at the right time. We have taken months without eating beans and it’s a blessing to have our favorite meal once again. I didn’t expect anything like this to happen at this time,” she continued.
Opuyo is a widow and mother of four girls. She was fortunate to have attained skills in tailoring and garment cutting from an institution in the region. This is a kind of work she has been doing for years, along with small-scale agriculture. Single-handedly, she has been able to raise tuition for her two other school-going children, as Mary is sponsored by Arrows + Hope. However, due to the outbreak of Covid-19, everything has changed. She cannot do her sewing business, markets are closed, and there are restrictions on all travel. As a family, they have been surviving on only boiled potatoes with water.
Opuyo thanked Arrows + Hope for supporting them to have a proper meal today. “All glory goes to God the Almighty for the gift of food,” she said. “Where on earth will you get this kind of help!”
Receiving food aid from Arrows + Hope was a real blessing to the family as a whole. We could not ride to their house since the president does not allow anyone to visit or distribute food to the locals. If caught, one is charged with attempted murder.
Availing food and non-food items to the families of our children affected by Covid-19 has proved to be a blessing to beneficiaries. It is help given at the right time.
Arrows + Hope is still desiring to help many more families as we can because the chances of the economy recovering anytime soon are very slim. Looking at the different categories or zones we put each family, cases in each category keep going up / increasing.
We thank the donors for their continued and generous giving to the children and their families at a time like this. Many lives have been preserved and transformed by this project.
Safehouse Update
These three beautiful young women recently moved into the Arrows + Hope Safehouse. We give thanks to God for opening doors and hearts to provide a safe place for them to stay. It is our hope and prayer the Arrows + Hope Safehouse will be a temporary refuge providing hope and healing.