School in the time of Covid-19

AUGUST 28, 2020

     Brace yourself for this one…. The caregivers at St. Jude Children’s Home in Gulu, Uganda, have been homeschooling 86 children since the 18th of March.

     As you might imagine, it hasn’t been easy. Life at St. Jude’s has been re-organized several times in recent months, in response to the various needs of these children who were already living with the ongoing stress that naturally arises from being an orphan or living with a difficult disability.

     While the Ugandan Minister of Public Education has organized the continuation of school lessons through TV or radio, the extreme poverty of Northern Uganda precludes most children from accessing these resources. So in some ways, the children at St. Jude are at an advantage during the government lockdown.

     Right away, the children at St. Jude were split into three main groups: nursery, first to third grade, fourth to seventh grade. A fourth class group was created for two children who are deaf. These group meet for a few hours each morning and afternoon to study math, English and science. To minimize any chances of infecting the children, the staff allowed onto the property of St. Jude are at a bare minimum, so everyone is stepping up to teach including Martin, the supervisor of the food storehouse, Anek, who was getting ready to attend secondary school, and Hilder, who taught at the nursery. The children in fourth grade and above are also getting computer lessors from Sr. Grace in the multimedia room that is equipped with 15 donated computers.

     By all reports, the children have been extremely dedicated to their studies and are learning rapidly, even managing to fill in some gaps that existed in their knowledge at the end of last year.

     It has been inspirational for me to see how in these challenging times, everyone at St. Jude has stepped up to help each other, leaving behind their usual roles and doing the best they can for the common good. I never ceased to be amazed by the people who have dedicated their lives to caring for the children at St. Jude. And likewise, I am endlessly amazed by your generosity in supporting their important work. Thank you as always.