Meeting Families Where They Are
As a social worker for Children of Uganda, I have personally witnessed the mental and emotional toll the pandemic has had on students and their families. Together, we have worked to navigate difficult feelings and circumstances such as loss of hope, increased poverty and school stress.
Based on discussions and observations during the COVID 19 lockdown, we realized our beneficiaries faced many hardships from trauma, depression, mental and/or behavioral challenges. This called for continuous counseling and psychosocial support by encouraging timely communication with parents and beneficiaries on topics that applied to their situations, for example:
- Dealing with difficult events and restoring hope
- Developing healthy and respectful relationships
- Sex education (birth control methods, body safety rules, preventing early marriage, etc.)
- Alcohol and drug abuse
- Career guidance
- HIV prevention and care
In Uganda, mental healthcare was weak long before the pandemic with only 47 psychiatrists (primarily based in the capital city of Kampala) for a population of 42 million.
To strengthen mental health and psychosocial support as a part of the government’s COVID-19 response, health authorities in Uganda are increasing personnel and funding. A team of 35 psychiatrists have been deployed to the Central Region (Kampala) and up to 3 mental health care workers are now attached to every quarantine site. This is according to Dr. Kenneth Kalani, head of the Mental Health and Psychosocial Support unit for the Ministry of Health’s COVID-19 task force. Around 300 social workers have also been trained across the country to ensure mental health services are operational.
The majority of Children of Uganda’s beneficiaries developed issues that required psychosocial support and counseling during this sensitive period; and yet, our staff capacity was limited to address these needs. On top of this – school closures, lockdowns and quarantine restrictions disabled our ability to deliver various services.
Meeting families where they are – physically, mentally and emotionally – demanded new strategies for engagement and empowerment. As difficult as it was, myself with the aid of our sponsorship team, pursued all avenues we could to ensure support to every household during that critical time.
To illustrate the seriousness of some of these situations, the following are two cases that we took through our case management plan and that resulted in positive outcomes:
- During the lockdown, while out of school, one of the young men we sponsor became involved in petty work to help support his family – a single mother and 4 siblings. He took on odd jobs such as brick laying or fetching water. As the months passed and his responsibilities grew, he decided it would be best to never go back to school. We had to intervene. A meeting was organized with the student, his mother, his class teacher Mr. Noah, several classmates and COU staff. Thankfully, we were able to convince him to change his mind and he is now back at school.
- An 11-year-old girl in our program was being tracked by a man who presented himself as a “friend,” but was in fact trying to lure her into early sex. Gratefully, police and COU staff were able to intervene before she was taken advantage of. The man was arrested and the child was removed from that area. She also received counseling and body safety education.
COVID-19 hit all countries hard, but its impact has been harshest on those communities which were already vulnerable – causing many of our students to become more vulnerable than ever. And so, in addition to continuing group and one-on-one counseling for children and their families, we also have a number of other initiatives aimed at improving mental, emotional and behavioral health including:
- “My Sister and Brother’s Keeper” – a new mentorship program initiated in February, 2021. Students were paired up and tasked with getting the other student’s contact information, as well as their guardian’s mobile number. They were encouraged to check on each other and offer moral support where possible. Together, they can keep an eye on one another for accountability, security and safety. Our hope is to foster a spirit of unity among families and to create healthy bonds that will endure beyond COU’s support.
- Mini-Camp – it is our plan and hope to safely bring the students together for a wellness and character building “mini-camp” led by counselors, career facilitators and COU staff.
- Parent/Guardian Trainings – COU will hold a refresher training on parenting skills, household safety and how to protect children from abuse. Education on free resources (such as the SAUTI 116 Child Help Line) will be provided to families.
