A Mysterious Year with Covid-19
By Fr. Dominic Tumusiime, Chaplain
It was well put by Jacinta Jardine, “With the Covid-19 Pandemic, we are living through a world crisis the
likes of which hasn’t been seen in 100 years”. This strange period of the virus has been awful, disgusting,
nasty, terrible, and atrocious.
From day one, when the outbreak was aired on the national televisions and all other social media platforms.
It was like a nightmare. But swiftly it came to our school. I remember students in one of their psycho-social
encounters from their lockdowns narrating horrible traumas during and after the assembly announcement
that the school was shutting down indefinitely. Everyone was obliged to escape to home. It was a shock for
all administration, students, parents, staff, and all the stakeholders. Since then life has never been the same
at our school and probably will never be so.
I am sorry I cannot find enough words to summarize the magnitude of the problems and challenges the virus
caused at our school and community at large. The crisis, naturally caused fear, panic and anxiety which paralyzed the normal human functionality. Things went differently and life changed so badly.
Our school, like all schools in the country, was ordered to a closure with effect from that dark day morning of
March 20th, 2020. When our beloved school went closed and silent after the evacuation exercise of all students
and staff. In the twilight of that strange morning, parents started pouring through the school gate,
panting, and asking to pick their children for safety. For it had been laudably broadcasted that the only safe
places left on the planet were homes. Home and families regained their essential place of importance in human
society.
What next now that the school was closed and dead silence? Almost a month went by in silence and quietness.
While the global community was busy grappling with what to be done and speculating anything possible.
A caution was also given: to be watchful to the information we take in. Those were horrible days and not
yet completely over. Days when anyone came up with anything for survival of the pandemic
since no one seemed to a right answer. The world went into a kind of limbo: Stringent rules, lockdowns, mask wearing, denial of handshakes and hugs, social gatherings, cultural
marriages, and funerals became abominable forbidden. Life was left for fear, panic, and death.
Despite all this tussle, a lot depended on individual attitudes. Those who chose to live positively and those who choose negativity. Each one was wrestling with what works best and how to cope with the virus.
Gradually, national measures were carved out that made it possible for the process to start thinking of reopening
the school. However, remember that Covid-19 virus situation is so confusing because its so hard to
predict what tomorrow will look like. The journey continues. The good news is that with no positive case ever
reported at our school since reopening last September, students proudly calling themselves experts of Covid
prevention and managing, and the great news of the new vaccines, hope and new life is starting to spring up.
I am particularly thankful. Despite the threat and chaos created by the virus, there are some scattered positives
elements visible. For example, we have had great passion of our staff to provide hope in hopeless situations.
Teachers and support staff with no salary to live on turned into volunteers to keep life and essential services
running. We have had enormous love and concern from our friends from all over the globe come in to help, with
special mention of Yamba Abaana USA. Their overwhelming Covid support program that included funds for
emergency food during the crucial times of lockdowns and for home packages to keep education for our students
in their homes running stand unprecedented. There is never a such thing as little for a needy person. Students,
their families, staff and their families, the elderly persons and vulnerable, all shared in the generosity of these
friends thousands of miles away from home. From many young people we hear their voices say that they have
learnt a lot of what life means and how planning to avoid waste is so critical in life.
It’s now time to start piecing up our broken parts. Our phased school reopening is doing quite well though it has
been a walk through lots of challenges including financial stresses. Our eighteen candidates took the first opportunity, followed by grades six to four with 113 joyous students. Lastly, we are in preparations for grades kindergarten through primary four and expecting 200 students who are still stuck at home. Life is beginning to
remerge from the shambles of the pandemic and we are very hopeful.
Thank you everyone who has stretched out your hand to lift us up when we truly needed you. Our prayer is that
God may work with us to heal the world and recreate normalcy faster than we expect. Please, know that wherever you are, in solidarity we are, for a better life and peace.
By Sr. Kyasiimire Stella, Tr. Kesande Joy and Tr. Ahuyakyisimire Salvius
When the news of national lockdown in Uganda due to the outbreak of Covid-19 was announced on the school assembly that early morning of March 20th, 2020, no one believed their ears. It was clearly spelled out by the President that the virus came for everyone and he needed everyone to act together to fight and defeat it. The outbreak of Covid-19 virus was the first glob-al outbreak for many in Rubanda to hear about and witness in history. This led to great commo-tion and fear accelerated by improved means of social media. There was extreme panic and confu-sion all over the school as everyone started running all over the place in preparation to leave. We were told that the safe place on the planet was one’s home since anywhere else was scary and risky justifying social lockdowns. Crowds were to be avoided too because it was believed that the virus was spreading through air between humans and school paused first degree risk.
Life is sweet; hence, we organized swiftly and got all students ready so that by 11:00 am they were all evacuated by parents and guardians, leaving the school miserable and in the silence of hopelessness wondering whether life would ever return to normal. The staff members fled as well except for those who were categorized as “essential workers”. Great panic and trauma was felt all over the place; social and cultural life including marriage and funeral ceremonies were paralyzed; all worship and public places were on maximum lockdown. A new lifestyle and concepts like social distancing, no handshakes and hugs, masks, sanitizer, temperature gun, and quarantine became the order of the day causing great hopeless-ness and strife. Thanks to Rev. Fr. Dominic Tumusiime with his administration team who tirelessly reached out to our friends in USA and shared our concerns.
We are so grateful that through Yamba Abaana USA, a great mobilization and donation of funds was given to us. Hence, the school administration was able to reach out to each student and their families and to the staff with food supplies. More specifically, an educational program was designed, and home packages were distributed. This was done through the combined ingenuity of leadership advising ways of reaching out to all students in several villages. We had to find ways to keep them busy and motivated during the prolonged lockdown period. No obstacle was irresistible to our self-motivated and passionate volunteers. Sr. Stella gives a talk on the psycho-social effects of Covid to school parents and staff. Sr. Stella gives a training on Covid prevention measures (SOPs).
We are thankful to the general coordinator who mobilized all school management and administration to work as a team and keep life moving, though differently. Together we set up a pro-gram for home food distribution in which we created centers within our catchment areas, built a team of volunteers, coordinated with our school Alumni to be able to connect our different volunteers through the villages to the individual homes of our students.
It was hard work but rewarding because we worked as a team, in solidarity, and passionate to serve. We must endlessly appreciate our school friends of Yamba Abaana USA. They gener-ously supported us at the time we most needed them with funds that kept us moving, motivated and surviving during the pandem-ic lockdown. For instance, we recall lots of laughter from the vol-unteers whenever the name CHEP (Children Home Education Program) would be mentioned. We all felt proud of it because it was our teamwork concoc-tion. There were a lot of innovations done. We also started a KGG program (Keep Gardens Green) with help from our same friends. This has kept our school gardens green, produc-tive, and fruitful during the lockdown and we will continue to do so. With all the good done, there were many challenges too.
Many volunteers could not access the centers or even the students’ homes easily. Some family members were not available due to getting stuck in the places when the lockdown began. Other families had migrated since the school was locked down without notification of change of address. Also, a good number of students did not do their home assignment due to lack of proper facilities and supervision since many parents are illiterate. Moreover, the greatest challenge was the means of transport, which was walking or a one-person seater motorcycle as required by the lockdown guidelines.
Despite the challenges faced during the lockdown like food shortages, domestic violence in families, lack of means of transport, depression, anxiety, strife, and academic redundancy, we got an opportunity to learn, to make innovations, and to reach out to our students’ homes. We learned about the challenges each family faces in raising them up and learned a lot about virtual and online education; what it means, how it affects us and how we need to improve it even after the virus is gone. We accomplished so much together, and life has just begun as we continue to forge through the pandemic to the new normal. Our hope is in our motto, to remain “United for Success
Recent Comments