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Salutations to you all,

The issue of Ebola here is getting worse and talks, and recommendations for Kampala’s lockdown are starting to circulate. A few articles have been written in the papers stating that we might not have the capacity to handle Ebola if it actually spreads more. The most recent discovery was in school students and some schools were forced to cancel parent visitation the next weekend until further notice. Parents were urged to send money to their children via the different avenues provided as schools tried to limit physical contact between outsiders and students.

This week, I made visits to several Mamas and the following are some of the outcomes of these visits;

Betty N is doing well with her tailoring. The season has opened and she is receiving a great number of orders at the moment. She continues to work with two girls now at the shop teaching them both how to tailor. 

Hadijja N is continuing to heal tremendously and these days she doesn’t carry her clutches anymore. She says that her foot is still sensitive sometimes but it is bearable. The chips stall is doing okay and the authorities have not bothered them in a few weeks now. These local authority guys have been such a menace to these roadside food vendors, confiscating their items and even arresting the people. The past few weeks have been calm and she is enjoying herself at the moment.

Amina A is also holding up well with her little chapati business. She is even talking about delivering at one of the schools her children go to. This is a good way to expand her business and also start making more money because as it stands right now, she is only making money to feed her family and slowly pay loans of school fees. Otherwise, she is well. I found her cooking on her stove dinner which she was happy to invite me to but as always I declined because I had no time.

Angel N is also doing well. Her veggie stall looks good at the moment. She is enjoying a monopoly around her area but the thing is that most of the homes around her have gardens so they don’t buy much. Otherwise, everything is okay and her kids are doing school so she is happy.

Annet N is loving life at the moment. She said most of her items are reducing in price as sugar has greatly reduced from 5500/- to 4300/- which used to be the normal price. This is good because sugar is a key ingredient in tea and porridge and customers are more likely to buy from a vendor if these items are sweet enough. Her children are doing well as they are all in school. 

Lilly A is also doing well with her tailoring. She is working on several orders for tablecloths so I am happy for her. The previous months had been very slow for her and it was getting hard to go by every day. Otherwise, the pick up in business is good. Her children are all back in school except the girl who has not yet decided what she wants to do but occasionally helps out at the shop.

Maria has been doing very well with her piggery farm just until the piglets started being sick last week and we had to intervene. Between the two pigs, she got 14 piglets so she decided to split them between the two each time they breastfeed. These babies are a bit rough and they have been biting their mothers so Maria decided to control their feeding by allowing them to nurse once a day and let the mothers heal. The rest of the time they feed on the grass and leaves Maria provides.

She has also indulged herself in a bit of poultry farming of local birds. She got a few local chickens that laid for her eggs and because the pigs and chickens share mash, she decided to add to her jobs. They are still little but she would like to continue with the venture so we keep our fingers crossed for her.

Francoise L was unlucky the other day because just after I had finished visiting her and having a beautiful chat, she caught malaria and some other infections. Her daughter called me saying that Francoise had failed to get out of bed and was throwing up after eating anything. At the end of the day, she was very weak so I asked her to take her to the hospital and offered for ISEE to pay her costs. They took her to the hospital and she after testing was done she was offered bed rest and immediate treatment. I am happy to report that now as we speak she is actually back home and recovering nicely.

I also passed by to see Jenifer at the secondhand shoe place and she was doing great. She was actually packing up to close and leave because she was working a half-day. The stock is coming in well, the prices of the taxes have not changed but they continue to go by. All the kids are in school at the moment and she is having a happy life as she looked very happy when we were chatting.

Lastly, I took the liberty to visit New Hope Nursery to see how they are doing with the Purifaaya. I am glad that they are utilizing it very well and the administration is very excited about it. They are so grateful and one of the teachers likes to pose by the Purifaaya.

He says that is where he sits most of the time to help the kids with the tap while collecting water. Otherwise, I am really happy when I see these kinds of things utilized to provide safe drinking water for the kids. Thank you all who provided these items to both homes and schools.

It was a beautiful week, the rains had stopped but now they are back so it is a good thing. The only problem that is threatening us is the Ebola situation which is starting to make us all uncomfortable so I wear my mask and use sanitizers as much as I can. I ensure to remind our Mamas to remain safe and protect themselves by simply washing their hands with soap. 

Always a pleasure keeping you posted, I look forward to a wonderful week ahead as we continue to support our Mamas. Thank you

Report by;

Andrew Echel 

Director of Programs, Uganda.

ISEE Solutions Society