At this time of great worry and uncertainty for us all, we sincerely hope that you and your loved ones are in good health. Kurt and I have called many of you to “check in” and see how you are doing. We will continue to reach out and would love for you to share (good or bad) how all of you are managing through this troubling time.
Thank you for your past and ongoing support as our lifeblood especially for the children, the women and girls whose lives you touch.
In terms of Guiding Light Orphans, Inc we can assure you that we are following both the USA and the Uganda Government and public health officials advice and we have put strict measures in place to protect our medical staff, patients, students and everybody they come into contact with through hand washing, utilization of masks and cleaning and disinfecting.
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, some of our services are still suspended and this is tough for us knowing that the quality of lives for the children and their caregivers has been greatly affected.
In the last couple of weeks, Uganda slowly eased its restrictions and Guiding Light Orphans put a plan into place to cautiously allow half of the women and girls back into their Micro-economic Enterprise.
The women have been so excited to be back to learn more skills after being under total lockdown for the last three months and now able to make scholastic materials and produce hygiene products like liquid soap which they are selling to generate some income. It’s important to note that the woman also donated some of the liquid soap to vulnerable communities in response to COVID-19.
To encourage the women, we started checking in with weekly calls to make sure they were doing okay. Last Saturday I checked in with one of our newest member, Juliet Asaba, a 24 year old single mother of eleven month old twin girls. Here is what she had to say:
“It’s been very difficult during this time and all we can do is pray for God’s mercy. Sometimes I was not sure where I would get the next meal to feed my babies, but it’s been great coming back to work and now I am earning some money. Right now after coming back, I know I can feed them and they will be healthy. I am proud of myself because I have learned so many skills and grateful for all the support you have given me and my babies”
Without YOU, our young women and girls would have no HOPE!
As a result of YOUR commitment, not only Juliet will not have to worry about whether she can feed her eleven months old twin girls, but also her co-workers are now able to return to earning an income to support their families.
