Greetings to you all dear readers,
This week started with another presidential address, actually two presidential addresses. One was a scheduled address that was supposed to end the previous three week lockdown session and then another presidential address the next day which was Wednesday to clarify what he had said the previous day.
The President started the usual update on the Covid 19 by giving us the current statistics of the people tested for the virus and at the time, over 87,827 people had been tested with about 227 positive cases and over 62 people had recovered.
The President also released another set of guidelines to be followed in a duration that was so confusing that required another Presidential address the next day to clarify what he was saying. He talked about 2 weeks and then 21 days. Then he talked about wearing masks that were to be distributed by the government to all citizens above the age of 6yrs. He issued a directive that anyone who was going to access any public place or facilities had to wear a mask to help protect each other and prevent possible infections. This mask issue has been very controversial among all people and stakeholders who have been discussing this issue from the fact that it will be incredibly difficult to get it done in the two weeks he had scheduled for the distribution to be done, to the fact that we don’t have any factory that has the capacity to produce the quantity of masks that is required.
Public and Private transport was to be released on 2nd June so people can get back to work but now some articles say 26th May 2020. These are some of the issues he had to iron out and now people can actually wear their own non medical masks as long as they meet the set standards. These include cotton fabric with either a breathable fabric in the middle or simply a pocket between the two layers so people can put tissue or other materials that are breathable.
Otherwise, the country is stable though the majority of the population is becoming impatient with the lockdowns. The streets are getting busier and more and more shops are opening as the need for money increases on a daily basis. Our work as ISEE Solutions still continues as we look out for our Mamas who are continuously struggling to survive in this situation. This week I followed up on some of them and talked about different issues concerning them and their businesses for those who still have their businesses.
Gertrude N you will remember was lost last week. I finally got through to her through one of our community leaders. We spoke a bit and she is well. She still has food supplies so that’s good. The printing equipment is still intact as she uses the computer almost everyday to ensure that it runs well. She also downloads music for sale to the locals.
Dorah A, is doing well. Her husband is still stuck in Mbarara and still isn’t able to come back. She still has some food so she is doing fine she said.
Jane N, is doing well. She said Francis and the family are doing well. Francis is doing fine and has been healthy through this season. The tank is okay but the business is not so good because people have resorted to using the water well as opposed to the tank water she gets from National Water.
Jane N, our second Mama who owns a water tank and sells water to the community, is okay but has moved to the village and is trying to garden a few vegetables to support her small number of children. The past few weeks have not been good for her because of the scarcity of rain but this week they saw some rain. She said she had to move because of the nature of her family where she has many grandkids and feeding them would have been difficult so that’s why they moved. She has her youngest son staying at home to ensure that her home is safe and the tank too.
Sarah N who owns a goat house and 4 goats says that she is well and the goats are well too. The baby goats had fallen sick two weeks ago but she managed to get the veterinary doctor who came and had them treated.
Anna M, is doing fine. The kids are still with the grandparents. Nothing new she says.
Rashida S and her family are doing well in this fasting season. She still works so it’s a good thing.
Jolly B and Francoise’s family are doing okay. I called them to ensure that they also are keeping up with the business and she said yes. They are producing a small amount of snacks like chapati and samosas but their aim is to sell all that they make or fry every day. Then Angel, who is a niece, also brings in some income on some days of the week from doing house chores for some family around the area. She said this helps them with food mostly.
Asia N, the book maker, is doing okay but some of her books got ruined on the night of 21st May 2020 from the rain that fell through the night. It seems that the house was lilted a bit so some of it got in. A few of her books got ruined but most of them are still okay as she always covers them with a polythene bag.
Hadijja N, is doing okay. I spoke to her this week again and sadly she had lost her elder brother who was in the military. She was looking to secure a permit to allow them go for the burial due to the lockdown guidelines. I sent her condolences on behalf of ISEE Solutions family as they go through these hard times because her brother had two young kids.
Otherwise the week has been good. Everyone else is excited that the lockdown is about to be lifted on the 26th May 2020. The rest of our Mamas I will look out for them next week to ascertain their condition and continue to support them in the ways we can.
Thank you again for all those who support us and keep reading our blogs. Your support means a lot to the people who we serve in my community here. We appreciate it.
Report by;
Andrew Echel
