As a single mother to four young children, Jennifer has had a tough time looking after her family with the loss of her income due to the pandemic. “I used to deliver cooked food from the market to the customers before the pandemic, but due to safety measures put in place and the country-wide lockdown, I lost my job,” Jennifer told us.

Losing her only source of income dealt a big blow to her family of five. “We had no shelter, we were living in a house that was leaking, and when it rained we would be rained on,” she soberly told us. “We had no food, we slept hungry and the situation began to affect us, especially my two last born young boys,” Jennifer’s youngest boys, James and Eli, are 7 years and 4 years old. “Their health was beginning to weaken because of lack of a proper diet,” Jennifer told us.

Then one of our community volunteers met Jennifer and connected her to Child’s i. Because of your generous support, we were able to find Jennifer and her family a house and paid her rent for the next 6 months as well as mattresses so the family can sleep safely at night. We were also able to provide her with charcoal and food to help her feed her children. “I feel like a big weight has been lifted off my shoulders, my boys are now looking healthy,” Jennifer said, smiling, “I have food for my family and our house is not leaking.”

The families we support continue to be the most economically affected by the pandemic and Uganda’s country-wide lockdown measures. Jennifer hopes to get a market stall and start selling produce at the nearby market to provide for her family.

Read more about our response to the pandemic, and how we are providing emergency support to keep families like Jennifer’s together, at www.childsifoundation.org/coronavirusresponse