This was the state in which River Blue, a community organization, found him; weak and tired. They brought him food that should last several weeks and promised to keep checking on him.
Kamilo Ogole's battle with leprosy left him unable to do any garden work. Defeated, the 88year-old set off for Kampala City, about 400kilometers away. For a while, he managed to survive through begging for the day's meal on the streets of Kampala.
That was until the country suddenly went into the coronavirus-induced lockdown. A few days into the lockdown, a hunger-stricken Ogole thought he might find refuge upcountry where it was believed to be less strict at the time. He begged an essential worker headed to his home district to drop him off at his ancestral home in Alekolwongo Village, Alebtong District. Little did he know the rules applied everywhere, the whole country was on lockdown.
His married daughter, who was equally struggling to put food on the table would send her teenage daughter with a meal for him, but it was barely enough. The 13-year-old only managed to deliver the much-needed food to her physically impaired grandfather a few days a week. The elderly Ogole was forced to sleep hungry multiple times in the months of April and May.
In June, when the mango season started, some neighbours dropped off ripe mangoes which was his food for days. Sadly, the season left as quickly as it came, and he was back to starving.
This was the state in which River Blue, a community organization, found him; weak and tired. They brought him food that should last several weeks and promised to keep checking on him. "This food donation came as a miracle!" an elated Ogole said upon receiving the food.
River Blue is an initiative by a group of individuals in Alebtong District in partnership with the Love without Borders Foundation. Through this program, they sought to distribute food packages under a small project called the COVID-19 Emergency Relief Food. The packages were delivered to 70 of the most vulnerable families affected by the ongoing COVID 19 lockdown in Uganda.
By CivSource Team