Uganda
It took the rape of an innocent 14 year old girl to allow us behind the veil of lockdown in Uganda.
Our team were called to the girls home because she attends our school Pencott. The lockdown rules in Uganda only permitted officials to visit families, so this was the first time our team could legally visit any of our children.
We offered the social worker a place of safety for these children as all local orphanages are full. After an inspection Social Services granted us temporary custody for these two children.
Our team asked if they could visit other children from the school. As a result 10 children have been rescued and placed with us in temporary emergency care- (Dec 2020). Three were found alone because their mother was shot by a local defence unit whist walking home after curfew. She is now in hospital fighting for her life. Three were found homeless sleeping outside with drunks in the slum. Their mother could not return home and didn’t pay the rent. The landlord evicted the kids.
We renovated a room to ensure the boys have a safe space to sleep and are separate from the girls. Mattresses, bedding and clothes have been purchased and the children were absolutely thrilled to receive them. This will be the first time some of them have ever slept on a mattress.
Four of the children have been reunified with their parents or guardians. The young girl who was raped is among this group. She was not pregnant or HIV positive and we have covered her medical and legal bills.
The most pressing matter is the long term care of the remaining six children. Social services and the police have not been able to locate any suitable guardians therefore they have to come into long term care. We need to find suitable accommodation and the team are on with this.
Please consider donating to the long term care of these children.
We also distributed mosquito nets to all the children from the school as well as providing food parcels to the most needy through the local council.
Thank you to all of you who responded to this and for your immediate and ongoing support. You have truly made a unquantifiable difference in the lives of these children.
If you would like to help us keep feeding and caring for these children please consider making a donation be.
United Kingdom
Forget-Me-Notts has been operating throughout lockdown helping the most vulnerable children in South Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and more recently in Lancashire. This was made possible by combining our Forget-Me-Notts and our Crisis Response Teams and collaborating with frontline social workers and senior managers of Erewash, Amber Valley, Broxtowe, Gedling, Rushcliffe and Fylde and Wyre. Conditions are incredibly challenging but the result has been amazing, with no one falling ill and over 200 children’s home environment significantly improved.
One social worker said that in her 25 years of service she has never seen it so bad. What she means is that in the borough that she works they they are receiving around 50 referrals every 3 days. These are mainly for domestic violence, neglect and mental health issues.
Based on the current trend we anticipate things to become even more challenging for families as the economic impact of the lockdown bites.
In addition to the household items we are now providing toiletry packs and non-perishable food parcels.
Please keep spreading the word and supporting where you can.
