04.05.20 Social distance is a luxury

How to positively respond to the call for isolation and social distance is a grim challenge for most communities in underdeveloped countries like Uganda. I’m Musima village where Project Yesu primarily operates, the number of functional boreholes from which people get water for household use is about 12. These same points are accessed by operators of the bricklaying business that is a common source of income for many families. Congestion of people at the boreholes is a serious concern as it’s a potential accelerator of the spread of highly contagious diseases like coronavirus.

Long queues of jerrycans are seen at these points as their owners, both children and adults, spend a bigger part of their time in verbal fights against those who are impatient or those who want to take advantage of other’s weaknesses to dodge the queues. The situation has been aggravated by the presidential directive that imposes a 7:00pm curfew on all Ugandans. People now have less time to fetch enough water. Each borehole has a committee that is responsible for locking it and denying anyone access to the water beyond 7:00pm. This leaves people with no choice but to wait for hours in the heat of the day to get a chance of fetching 20 liters of water.

I would like to appreciate Project Yesu for the love they showed towards the people of Musima. Under the theme verse of Isaiah 43:2, they donated 15 Handwashing stations and I was privileged to be among those who took part in distributing them. We started at 10 o’clock and I thought it was a task that would take a couple of hours at most. But I was wrong. It turned out to be a ministry that God threw me into without knowing. It was an opportunity to educate those we would find at the boreholes about what is going on in the world. Many people have a big picture on their minds that the world is under attack by a bizarre organization that is announcing the beginning of the apocalypse. Some are shunning all that’s being said, calling it political propaganda, or saying that if it is time for one to die, preventive measures are in vain. We also noticed that some are scared of the infection, so much that they do not want anyone coming close to their homes.

We noticed the danger of sending children to shops and boreholes and sensitized the people against it. There has not been any communication about this from any authorities, but it is important. Many shops have improvised with small jerrycans to have customers wash hands first, but children cannot wash hands properly as recommended. We stationed the Handwashing equipment and soap that we estimate will work for about 25 days at three busiest locations in the trading centers and the rest at boreholes. There was no Handwashing station at any of the boreholes, yet one has to touch the handle of the pump that is touched by hundreds of hands per day!

There’s still a need for Handwashing stations and sensitization in the surrounding villages where some of the project children live. The area of operation of Project Yesu is not limited to Musima village, as children come from a greater area of Bugembe and Mafubira sub-counties. We thank God that He’s showing His love through the Project Yesu team and all the beloved sponsors and donors. This is what the world needs now. We continue to pray that God uses us as He wants to bring Heaven here on Earth. Stay blessed.