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LOCK DOWN STORY 10: AYO PATRA I am a third year student at Kyambogo University pursuing a Bachelors Degree in Land Surveying and Information Systems.  By this time,  I would be thinking of my  final year but because of the pandemic, I still remain uncertain about the continuity of education in my country. I am also a  lover of basketball , a skill I am Unashamed to take pride in, most people think it is a sport for only men, but women can surely play just like men, I am a witness to this. This  period has contributed to my spiritual growth. With my family, my faith has increased,  my prayer life has changed too, Before I could not last long in prayer but now I can.  I have learnt new hairstyles and this has helped me save a lot of money that I would have spent in the saloon.  I can budget properly and better now. I can now  make some good food because I had really dreadful cooking skills. Being at home, has given me ample time to ...

Lock down series 9: Philanthrope Bihamba When the lock down started, I thought It would not take long. It  is so unfortunate that the arcades and events that were my sources of income were  closed. The Mirembe arcade,  located on Nasser road where I work as a graphics designer was shut down, I belong to Quartier des as tst, a Congolese  band that plays at events, It is sad that we have not had a feel of the stage in a couple of months. In the first month, It was a smooth period because I had saved some money from other projects which helped me stock food for home.   Then, time started going by so fast, with no time we were in the second month, then third, at this time I had no penny on me. I had never experienced this in my whole entire life.  Being the bread winner of the home, with two young sisters to take care of, I could not just remain sitted, I had to hustle my way through just like any other African, I am Proud to be African becaus...

Lock down Story 8: Amali Juliet Amali Juliet is the founder of  Mt Elgon peace initiative that educates people on the importance of maintaining peace. She is also a teacher in  Kenya. The pandemic has greatly affected both my  professional and personal life, Juliet says. With zero campaigns for the peace initiative and unpaid leave my mind was really opened  to venture into business.  As a young struggling woman , I had very  meagre capital and that only made it difficult for me to start a business. The little I had, could not enable me  start a big business, so I decided to start a small car wash powered by Diesel.  I found the venture so challenging because I was inexperienced and I lacked a good site to wash the vehicles.  I had to employ two young men who unfortunately were inexperienced too, they could not  operate the machine and within two weeks it had broken down forcing me to take a loan to repair it.  With the ...

Lock down Story 7: Israel  Israel Baelongandi is a Specialist trainer in design thinking, He is also an alumni of YALI Regional Leadership Center East Africa.  His passion for change drove him to come to Uganda in the month of February for a six month social entrepreneurship fellowship facilitated by Social innovation Academy ( SINA). With so many expectations, little did he know that his life would take a twist because of the pandemic. At such a time when everyone is clinging to their families more, I am in Uganda. I miss my family back in DRC because I am so attached to them, family is my greatest possession and I can not help it but at times I get scared, he says . As an entrepreneur, being flexible is very good because it makes you adapt to any condition that comes with life. The lock down has greatly contributed to my personal growth. I have devoted time to write and share my autobiography so that it can inspire others. I have learnt new skills on design think...

Lock down Story 6 : Beulah Songok Beulah Songok is the founder of  Real for Real Foods company that works towards providing freshly produced fruit yogurt, organic vegetables, herbs, spices, fruit juice and cereals to the people in Kenya.  Beulah shares with us how the lock down has affected her start up company: Real for Real Foods . Corona came at a primed moment of my life. I had moved out of my parent's home into a rental house excited to start off an independent life.I was also hopeful that my business was about to thrive. Things happened so fast, from the time the first case was announced, government directives and fear immediately started affecting my business. I make real fruit yogurt and I needed several raw products. The first government directive was to avoid crowded places like markets which were my source of supply. By the time , I got on my feet to stand again and still run the business, the government ordered all public vehicles to maintain social di...

Lock down Story 5: Enock Jjumba Enock Jjumba Sentongo is the co-founder of Economic Hub Uganda that focuses on youth policy research. He is passionate about economic consultancy, development research and training. He is also an Economics Teacher and a policy advocacy fellow with Reignite Africa. The lock down has had hard hitting effects and opportunities for my work, Enock says. First,  I was unable to continue with my post graduate studies when schools closed, this disrupted my timeline and goals. Second , the nature of work both as a researcher and teacher is field based which meant that some projects had to either be postponed or cancelled which to some extent  affected my livelihood. However, I have managed to adjust with the help of technology. Unlike in developed nations,  where upto 70 percent of the research can be digitally executed. It is not very easy here as many people are not digitally literate,  it has been a big lesson. This period has be...

Lock down Story 4: Tumaini Mwangoge  Tumaini Mwangoge is the owner of Tumaini General Cleaners Company that provides home care services to families in Tanzania. My business is a mobile business, she says. We  move from one house to another and this  involves contact with different people.  After the 1st covid case was announced in Tanzania, the number of customers started decreasing every other day, families preferred  keeping to themselves in fear of contracting the virus,  others  resorted to cleaning their own homes,  we were disposed off and so we decided to close for a while with no more cash flow and salary payment. So many countries closed their boundaries, economic activities were put on hold,  getting supplies for our work became difficult. The present business environment was so challenging to us.  On March 16th, Arusha received its first Covid 19,  I was terrified and afraid on how we could survive. The numbe...

Lock down Story 3 : Vanneziah  Students have been among the most vulnerable group affected by the pandemic. With so many questions and few answers, the dilemma still continues. For students that miss their classrooms, teachers, friends, course-works, field trips and a whole lot more, our hearts are with you, all hope is not lost. Vanneziah, a fourth year pharmacy student at the University of Nairobi, shares how the pandemic has affected her education. When the pandemic struck I had just began my pre-final year, I was hoping to graduate and get out of school a year later.. but then all seemed to be nothing but only a wish. Being a pharmacy student, It took long before the online learning idea was implemented because our course is entirely composed of practicals which could not be done online. Online learning has been a big transition for me.  My biggest challenge is being a native of a remote  mountain Elgon area with barely good internet connectivity , this has made i...