How we’re getting ahead of the curve in Kamuli, Uganda
The Children’s Legacy Partnership Foundation is normally involved in development work where we are funding microloans for women in rural communities in Uganda, education support for children in Uganda, and leadership training for middle school students in the U.S. During the outbreak of covid-19 we are making some shifts, which we hope are short term but are necessary for the survival of our most vulnerable families in Uganda.
In developing countries such as Uganda, the travel ban due to the covid-19 virus is having secondary disastrous effects. With the travel ban, people are not able to work and earn money. There are no social systems in place like there are in the U.S. People in the rural villages are experiencing severe food shortages and are starving. We know that this will further compromise peoples’ immune systems and make them more susceptible to the effects of disease. Severe malnutrition will also be detrimental to the physical and mental development of children we serve. This will have a long-term impact for years to come.
What we will be doing is providing relief services for 300 families to start. First, the most immediate need is food. We are putting together packages of corn meal, sugar, salt, and beans. We are also providing soap, and making and distributing face masks. Another part of the plan is to bring information to the rural villages about how to reduce spread of the disease with proper hand washing and sanitation.
We need to move quickly in our efforts and you can help in two important ways.
1) A direct donation via our website donor page at www.ourclp.org/donate. You can also send a check, or contact mary@ourclp.org.
2) Reach out to your network of family and friends and get them to donate. We know that people are hurting right now and not everyone is in a position to give. However, you may know others that can give. It is this connection of our networks that will make the difference in raising the money needed to save lives. We need you as an ambassador to go out and get others to donate. We don’t need to raise millions, but we do need to raise thousands. Here are some brief talking points you can use to get your family and friends to donate.
Our foundation works with other small NGOs that are run by Ugandans. In this way we are able to respond quickly with what is most needed. This relief effort will provide a minimum of what families need to stay alive. They will not be receiving large boxes of food repeatedly like what is available to families in the U.S. Our hope is to get ahead of the curve in relation to the disease and help Uganda avoid the high death rates seen in other regions of the world.
Rapid spread of covid-19 will have disastrous effects in developing countries. Many people already have compromised immune systems due to malnutrition, repeated bouts of malaria, and other immune-related diseases. They also don’t have access to health care and people who become ill will not be able to receive treatment.
We need you to act now. This disease has shown us that we are all connected and are global citizens. Our borders may be closed, but our hearts remain open. Our human superpower is love. Your donation is literally going to save lives.
I spoke more about our efforts with the foundation and how people and businesses everywhere can help us raise funds and awareness on the Brand in Bloom podcast with Liz Fleming. You can listen to my interview with Liz in the full episode below.
As always, we appreciate your support of the foundation on social media. Please continue to Follow, Like and Share our content on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter when you can – it helps so much!
