Covid Emergency: Girls are facing an increased threat of violence
Every day we get more reports of girls in danger. Can you help protect them?
Can you make a donation to protect girls like Joy?
Today I need tell you about the shocking situation unfolding for girls in our community.
Schools closed in March when Uganda went into lockdown. They will not reopen for the majority of students until at least February 2021.
Lockdown has pushed families here further into extreme poverty and hunger. Parents and guardians have lost income and are unable to feed their families. Restrictions on movement have limited access to healthcare. This has caused caregivers to become sick and left children to fend for themselves.
This has forced many children into dangerous work to support their families.
Uncertainty and long periods confined to small homes has led to an increasingly stressful environment.
Every day we get more reports of girls in danger, but we can’t reach them without your help.
We have been dealing with a sharp increase in children being abandoned, child abuse, poor mental health and homelessness. Cases of domestic violence have increased by more than 150%.
For Joy, Covid changed everything
Our team went to find Joy when we received reports of a young girl in a dangerous situation.
Joy had lost both her parents to HIV when she was 10 year. With no other relatives around, she was taken in by a neighbour. The neighbour herself fell ill during lockdown and couldn’t work. She told Joy to sell alcohol (local brew) from their home. When Joy asked not to, she was violently beaten.
Joy worked alone all day and into the night which put her at huge risk. She was repeatedly raped and abused by the men that came to buy the brew.
With nowhere else to go Joy feared that she would be beaten again or end up on the street if she spoke up.
Thankfully, our team were able to rescue Joy. We have found her safe new home and are providing the counselling and support she needs.
We must not allow these crimes to continue to multiply.
Could you give a donation to protect girls like Joy?
Your donation will help us expand our vital community safeguarding, education and skill training work.
We can't do it alone - will you join us?
My team are working around the clock to help girls like Joy, but we can’t do it alone.
We realise that this continues to be a challenging time for everyone, wherever you live. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for any support you can give us.
My love and thanks on behalf of all women and girls here in Bwaise.
Florence
How your gift will help save girls like Joy:
Protecting girls from the risk of abuse
We will grow our network of community volunteers and youth leaders, who will identify girls in need of our immediate help.
We will work with families, our community, the police and other service to rollout measures to prevent violence.
A safe space
Girls will have a safe, comforting temporary space to stay when they need emergency shelter.
Keeping girls in class
Through daily study groups girls will regain the ground they have lost. They will have a safe place to come during the day and a supportive structure of teachers, peers and volunteers to support their learning.
Providing girls with the skills
Your support will help us adapt and expand our workshops and class-rooms so we can arm girls with ways to earn their own income, safely.
We urgently need to raise £9,955 to help more girls like Joy.
£50 could help us provide a room for women and girls in need of emergency shelter.
£300 could help us paint and decorate our emergency shelter. Providing a safe, comforting temporary space for survivors of violence.
£95 could provide training for girls so they can earn a living without putting themselves at risk.
£78 could buy soap and handwashing equipment for our classes – keeping pupils and teachers safe whilst learning.
£21 could pay for a blackboard to use during a study group for at-risk children. We will provide classes for girls like Joy who are at risk of not returning when they reopen next year.
£5 could provide a girl with a dignity kit (soap and sanitary items)
£10 could help us train youth leaders, who will help us develop a community wide action plan to help prevent, report and handle cases of violence against children. They will also provide sexual reproductive health rights and peer counselling sessions to over 500 at risk girls.