I shared with you all recently what it is like to be in the slums during lockdown.
So far Uganda has been on lockdown for over a month.
Its been almost 6 weeks since, schools, churches and businesses have closed shop.
In that time more restrictions have been put in place.
No public transport of any sorts ( the majority of Ugandan's use public transport)
No driving private vehicles unless given permission by local authorities. Curfew each night from 7pm - 6am.
Only places still open are some factories and some supermarkets and food markets - but only those where the workers can actually sleep on site.
Food has tripled in price - making it even harder for families to feed their family. The government has put restrictions on those who can feed families in need - with only the government being allowed to do so.
These are difficult days for many of those we work with.
Not only for those families in the slums, but even for our workers.
People are desperate and so crime has increased, with looting becoming an increasing issue.
Police patrol the streets, making it difficult for our workers to check on families etc. All our contact with our families must be done over the phone now.
We have had to learn new ways to care for our families. It is hard when we know they are struggling so much, and we want to help, but our hands are being tied in so many ways.
Thankfully we have a good relationship with our local council. After some chats and gaining their approval they said we could continue to provide food to our families in most need, but only 10 families a week and also the malnourished babies we have been feeding and their families. .
So over the last few weeks, we have chosen 10 families who are in most desperate need. They are able to go and collect some of the basic food supplies to be able to feed their family for the upcoming weeks.
It has been incredibly humbling to hear their comments when our team have rung to tell them.
One of our team members said, " words can't express how grateful they were to the foundation. They said they were badly off and had no idea how they were going to give their children the next meal, they had nothing left to feed them, they were so so grateful. "
One of our ladies Aisha said, " thank you so much, the children were looking at me today for food, but I didn't have anything to feed them. I haven't been able to work since the lockdown, as there are no customers to buy from me. I did not know where I was going to get food for them".
Another of our mums Gladys said, " we have been going without food, we didn't have any left and with the lockdown haven't been able to work. We had lost hope of our we would sustain our families during this lockdown.... there are not enough words to say thank you!"
Words like these, have been repeated over and over by those we have been feeding. This has only been made possible by those of you who have made donations recently.
As an organisation we have seen a significant decrease in our regular funding, as many of our regular donors, have also hit hard times with the virus. Many have lost jobs, or had their regular work hours cut back.
To be honest, I am not sure how we will be able to recommence all our regular programs at the same level with our funding what it is at moment. But for now we take one day at a time.
As of yesterday the Ugandan government has extended the lockdown; extended for at least the next 3 weeks.
Our aim is to continue to be able to pay our workers ( who all have their own families to
support - with many supporting extended families in the village etc) and to be able to provide 10 families every week with food.
Alongside of the malnourished babies we are continuing to feed. We have been keeping track of the babies and young kids who are malnourished and its good to see that they are continuing to put on weight and develop.
You can support us in doing this by heading to our website and clicking the donate button, all donations that come through our website during this period will go to us feeding our families in most need.
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