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Uganda’s government took swift and strong action when the COVID-19 crisis emerged, enforcing a strict lockdown. While other countries continue to struggle to contain it, Uganda has just over 5000 cases with only 58 deaths.
Uganda’s figures are considered more reliable than most African countries. It has carried out more than 250,000 tests and works closely with international institutions to monitor infections.
Uganda closed schools and banned large gatherings three days before confirming its first case on March 21. By the end of March, most businesses were shut, vehicle movement was banned, and an overnight curfew was in force. Masks became mandatory in public in May.
Previous Ebola outbreaks prepared Uganda for how to screen passengers effectively in airports, create isolation wards, and trace those infected.
Although these measures have had great success in preventing the spread of Covid-19, which would be devastating to a population that has limited access to healthcare, there has still been a cost. Some women were unable to reach hospitals due to the travel ban and died in labor. Security forces have been criticized for overzealous enforcement of the curfew. And the economic implications are devastating.
A recent survey by the Economic Policy Research Centre (EPRC) in Uganda reveals that three-quarters of the surveyed businesses have laid off employees due to the risks presented by COVID-19 and subsequent containment measures. Indeed, the results suggest that lockdown measures have reduced business activity by more than half. A majority of small businesses, particularly in the service sector, predict they will have to close within one to three months if the pandemic persists and current restrictions are maintained. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/africa-in-focus/2020/05/19/impact-of-covid-19-on-micro-small-and-medium-businesses-in-uganda/
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"I think big!" gushes Eric. "I want to be the best designer ever!"
His goals aren’t limited to fashioning clothes, but to every aspect of design. With unbridled ambition, a strong work ethic and passion, this 22 year old is unstoppable.
Thanks to Project Have Hope's scholastic sponsorship program, Eric had the opportunity to pursue a course in fashion and design, and is currently employed by a company that manufactures clothes for government contracts.
Eric’s passion for design was ignited when he was 17 years old. His uniform was too big and ill-fitting. He was determined to fix it. “ ‘Let me try,’ ” he recalls saying to himself as he sat behind a sewing machine for the first time to adjust his uniform. “From that day, I loved tailoring.
Pursuing a course in tailoring would have been an impossibility without the financial support of Project Have Hope. Susan has gained both a skill and a confidence that helps her to navigate the future and the challenges that persist.
Much of Susan’s youth was spent rising before the sun and going to bed long after the moon had risen. Her day would start at 4am, when she would rise to head to the fields to work. She’d return home as the sun was setting and begin the time-consuming task of preparing a meal. Day after day.
At 19, a young mother herself, Susan moved to the Acholi Quarter. There, she labored in the stone quarry, often with her infant baby on her back.
When Project Have Hope began, it was a welcome relief to Susan. She could work from home with her daughter seated nearby and roll paper into beads. “It was simple work, easy work,” Susan carefreely recalls. Not only was the work easy, but she’d earn twice what she earned in the quarry. “It was a very great change for me.”
Susan later enrolled in a tailoring course through Project Have Hope’s support. From the beginning, she was thrilled with the opportunity tailoring presented. “You can expect money any day, any time,” Susan beams. “If I return to the village, I can bring my tailoring machine and work from there and earn a living. I can work anywhere.”
