By Mike Haden | Chairman, Jersey branch
Rwanda went into lockdown early on and has suffered relatively little health impact from the coronavirus epidemic with just 280 confirmed cases and zero fatalities to date (12th May). However, the impact on communities such as Bugarama in the far south west corner of the country has been harsh.
Here many people depend on casual work which has dried up or on what they produce for themselves in the fields. Many have plots or jobs across the border in DRC and have been prevented from accessing them. Food has been scarce and prices increasing.
Our friends at Muko school made a collection amongst the teachers to assist some of the most vulnerable families with food distribution and we have done what we can to support them, identifying £3,000 from our project funds which we have been able to send them.
We have also enthusiastically participated in the 2.6 Challenge, which has tried to replicate the funds raised every year by the London Marathon and so far we have raised a further £3,200 which we are sending for food aid. We did this by walking, running, rowing and keeping silent. Joel joined in in Rwanda and ran 26 miles between his house and the Burundi border.
Our construction work at Muko had to be halted for a month due to the lockdown but work has resumed, albeit with a limited workforce. We expect delays and some price increases in building materials but we are hopeful that the new classrooms will be ready when the school reopens in September.
Sadly, our planned project visit in November will not be possible due to ongoing travel restrictions but we are optimistic about returning next year to celebrate the completion of the long awaited classrooms.
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