Emergency Food Parcels – Uganda

June 2020

While we have been in ‘lockdown’ here in the UK, Uganda has also been wrestling with their own ‘lockdown’. Movement has been significantly restricted, school and businesses closed, and only essential travel allowed. Many Ugandans have had no income during this period and the Government does not have the resources to provide much of a safety net. In the main, families have had to try and cope the best they can.

As always, it is the most vulnerable members of society who have been hit hardest and people on our CPA projects in Uganda are no exception. Some of the families into which children on the Komamboga projects were resettled last year have struggled over recent weeks with the extra mouths to feed. Families in the CPA school scholarship programme in Rukungiri have also struggled; they were already identified as needing support and that situation has only become more extreme with the Coronavirus pandemic.

With all the restrictions, it is difficult to put anything too sophisticated in place to try and help. As we spoke with our partners on the ground, it became clear that one of the main issues facing families was a very basic human need – the need to eat. Food is available in the country, but with many families having no income during the pandemic, they simply couldn’t afford to buy it.

Our partners put together a list of essential food and household items that could be put together in a parcel and would last families for at least a month. The food items were chosen to include a good balance of carbohydrates and proteins. Each parcel costs £40 and should last a family for 4 to 6 weeks.

If you wish to donate you can do so by following this link https://www.give.net/cpa.

A typical basket had the following items:

4kg of maize flour
4kg of rice
5kg of ground nuts
5kg of beans
4kg of sugar
4 packets of salt
2 bars of soap
3 pieces of laundry soap

For the Komamboga children living around Kampala, our project worker, Julius, was allowed to use his pick-up truck to distribute the food packages to the families.

In Rukungiri the three CPA social workers and other staff at the North Kigezi Diocese collected supplies for 129 families and brought them back to the Diocese compound where they worked hard putting together food parcels for each family.

When the parcels were ready some families who lived close by sent a family member to collect their food parcel. For others who lived further away, the food parcels were delivered in a pick up truck. After a few days of hard work, parcels had been given to every family. The project workers told us how grateful the families were for the help.

We know this does not solve all the issues that vulnerable families are facing, but it helps with an immediate need. We will keep a close watch on how things develop and look to respond appropriately. The Ugandan government is starting to slowly relax some of the restrictions, but it will be a gradual process and there will be plenty of challenges still to face.

We’ll send out another update soon. Meanwhile, thanks for your support and your prayers – they are very much appreciated.

Best wishes

The CPA team