EFFECTS OF CORONAVIRUS TO ORPHANS IN UGANDA

By the time Coronavirus disease of 2019 broke out in Uganda in 2020 around March. To combat the spread of the virus, the country was put under lockdown. In March, public gatherings were suspended for 32 days with immediate effect.

Foreigners/Ugandans arriving in the country were put under 14-day mandatory quarantine in hotels designated by the government located in Entebbe. Movements were not restricted.

Below are the impacts of the Coronavirus on the orphans in Uganda since the first outbreak.

Children always have a delicate lifestyle. Due to the Coronavirus, it was hard for people to access medical facilities and the child suffered from different diseases that are to say headache, malaria, burns, allergy, flu, cough, diarrhea, tonsillitis, and wounds.  Getting the medication was hard so doctors had to be invited to the orphanages which were expensive.

The limited funds also become a big issue. Donor aid and charitable works always support orphanage homes. They were unable to do charity and donors were unable to send in funds as others cut the sponsorship to the orphans. This led many orphanages to close up as it become hard to feed the children, provide health care.

Domestic struggles in the family, high prices of food, shortage of medical care led to malnutrition in children and displacement of the children from families that can support them. Leaving many children in orphanages as they don’t have any families to take them in. Many children died because of hunger and fever as some kids feed on special food staff and it was not accessible and if it was the prices were high and could not afford it.

People were unwilling to volunteer for free. It was hard for orphanages to guarantee salaries to pay those who were working for them. This limited volunteers from coming to work since there were no transport means and also unstable payments. And some had to lay off some works to be able to cater for the orphans.

Children were unable to go to schools to study due to the closure of schools in the pandemic. Many orphans may not be able to go back to school as their sponsors pulled out in supporting them and for others, their supporting time has expired. This will leave very many out of school limiting them to a bright future in life.

Most material things come from charitable works. That is to say clothing, shoes, and others. This left many orphans with nothing to put on. Some of the donors to be able to donate to any orphanage home they base on the number of donations one makes. This has made many orphanages close up due to limited funds.

Child marriages were practiced. This is because they were unable to provide food for themselves and other basic needs.

Child labor is the main effect of orphans. Selling bananas and masks on the streets to make money. Providing for their families puts them a risk of getting the virus.

In a nutshell,

orphans faced a lot of challenges during the pandemic and a lot of support is needed to restore the lost hope in them. That is to say, guidance and counseling, food staff, health care, and material donations can be done through sponsorship, donations, and fundraising plus also volunteers to help in the process. This will at least restore the lost hope and for them to know that at least somebody somewhere still cares for them.