In June 2021, COVID began surging in African nations with the Delta variant becoming prominent. Uganda was particularly hit hard. Less than 1% of its population was vaccinated and hospitals were running out of space, oxygen was in short supply, and many more people were unable to receive care because of cost. We began communication with a few Ugandan leaders, pastors and directors of primary schools. Through the gift of technology, we were able to host online trainings, answer questions, and hear the needs from the community. It became clear that the need for preventative tools such as masks and soaps were necessary, as well as education around vaccines. Meeting TENTS decided that the best course of action was to travel to Uganda to do in person community trainings and deliver emergency supplies.
International travel was and continues to be difficult. We were able to reach the capital city of Kampala with 5,000 kN95 masks and hundreds of bars of soaps. Limitations on our visa and complexities of traveling with COVID restrictions made our trip short with less than 72 hours on the ground! In those couple days we were able to visit schools, deliver supplies, listen and sit with our friends, and remind them that they are not alone. We were also able to host an in person community training on COVID-19 and vaccines. We were so encouraged to see a whole community come together including parents, teachers, pastors, and government officials. At the training we were honored to meet the minister of health, district mayor, commissioner, and many others. Many questions were asked and everyone received a certificate of training. We use train-the-trainer models because we believe that training can go beyond us and into families, villages and towns where leaders live.
Since arriving home, we've continued to hear encouraging stories about the impact of this quick trip. One pastor held a training for his village using the knowledge that he gained. He uses speakers on top of the roof of his church to widely project health education (as seen in photo below)!
We've also heard stories of people receiving vaccines after being educated on what they are, how they work, and how they prevent disease. We’re proud of the work our friends are doing. They are incredible people doing incredible things, and we’re excited that we can play a small part in seeing a healthier Uganda.