CROSO's Response to COVID-19
Written by Molly MacCready, CROSO’s Executive Director
During this time when so many of our lives have been turned upside down, we have been in close communication with our scholars in Uganda. As supporters of our CROSO Scholars, I want to share updates about how the COVID-19 pandemic impacts them and how CROSO continues to support them during this time.
As I write this, there have been 44 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Uganda and no recorded deaths. We began communicating with our scholars about this issue prior to any confirmed cases of the outbreak there. We provided all of our scholars and graduates with trusted online resources (World Health Organization, CDC, and the Ugandan Ministry of Health) so they could be prepared before the pandemic spread to their country, which we assumed would be a matter of days or weeks. On March 18th (before there were any confirmed cases in Uganda), President Yoweri Museveni addressed the nation and announced that starting on March 20th, all schools would be closed for 30 days. We immediately contacted our scholars and provided funds for individuals traveling back to their home areas and covered additional needs for housing and food during this unexpected time away from school.
On Sunday, March 22nd, Uganda confirmed its first case of COVID-19 and on the following Tuesday, it was announced that all public transportation was banned. We are grateful that we were able to act quickly and provide funds so all of our scholars could arrange housing for themselves, either returning to Mbale, their home village, or renting a safe unit near their university.
Over the past week, Uganda has moved forward with more measures to limit the potential spread or exposure to COVID-19. Non-food distributing businesses have been closed, travel was initially limited to personal vehicles, and people were encouraged to stay home. On Monday, President Museveni went the extra step and initiated a 14-day lockdown with the exception of health professionals, and other essential services.
While the numbers do not look as daunting as those in the U.S., we know there is a significant difference in the structure and capacity of the healthcare systems in our two nations. As Peter, one of our first year scholars, aptly wrote, “Now imagine Molly if developed countries have failed to fight covid19 then what can we do?” This is a hard and scary time for our scholars. It also serves as a clear reminder to me of why our CROSO Scholarship program is so important. As we support these young people to access post-secondary education, we know we are witnessing the leaders of tomorrow gain the necessary knowledge, skills, and experiences. Not only do we support future medical professionals, but also the engineers who will build community hospitals, the social workers that will accompany families through trying times, the lawyers that will advocate for those without a voice, and the business men and women who will keep essential services running in times of distress. Without your support, CROSO could not do any of this, so thank you for your commitment to our scholars!
We continue to communicate with our scholars regularly and ask that you keep them and their families in your thoughts as we all navigate these strange new times.
If you are in a position to continue supporting our scholars financially, we do have our 2nd annual #CROSOcommits online giving day coming up on April 17th and we’d love for you to be involved. You can learn more here.