There are now 53 recorded cases of corona virus in Uganda, concentrated amongst people who have been quarantined after returning to the country – so it seems President Museveni’s early move to ‘lockdown’ the country is paying off. However, it now seems likely that the restrictions will remain in place for longer so that the schools will not resume after the Easter holiday as previously planned. As the children depend on receiving food at school we are worried about their wellbeing.
The continuing restrictions on movement are causing problems for everyone as most people in Uganda simply do not store food in the home. People in town are used to earning money on a daily basis and shopping daily whilst those in the rural villages are subsistence farmers living on what they can gather in their gardens.
As you know we had previously responded to the crisis by sending money for soap and foodstuffs to both Kyemula and Namayili – and we are pleased to be able to say that Milton and Joseph have both managed to purchase maize and beans to distribute – the rules actually forbid distributing food but both have been careful to ensure that those in greatest need have received bags of supplies
The price of foodstuffs has risen as shortages have pushed up the prices and additionally the cost of transporting food to the villages is higher than usual – a situation we expect may worsen as time goes on. Especially as we hear that another swarm of locusts has been sighted near Mbale which will adversely affect the crops.
3H had planned a schedule of development work for both villages for 2020 but in the current crisis we are going to send more money for food aid. I appreciate that many charities have been making appeals in the past few weeks but we would really appreciate your support to ensure that the people we support in Kyemula and Namayili do not starve.
