The worldwide ravaging corona virus also known as COVID-19 has brought great distress to so many families. This is particularly due to the required precautionary measure of lockdown policy to contain its spread. It has curtailed people’s movement in the pursuit of their means of livelihood. The distressing effect is more severe on the less privileged people in the society.
Child Development and Concern Foundation (CDCF), a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) with focus on child protection and development is working on educational support programme for indigent public primary and secondary school children under the platform of Adopt a School Child Programme (ASCP). The programme entails working with the parents of these children to ensure their proper care.
We have 41 children on the programme and most of them are living with their grandparents. The families we work with fall under the class of those highly vulnerable to being infected, as the disease has permeated the local communities because it does not have status barrier.
CDCF on Monday, 18th May, 2020 organized a one day programme to distribute palliatives (food items and nose masks) to the beneficiaries and sensitize them on how to prevent being infected by the virus.
As a way of complying with the directives of maintaining social distancing in any unavoidable gathering of people, the invited 41 families were divided into four groups for the programme. All the invited families came with their wards who are direct beneficiaries of our educational programme. Also in attendance were the invited guests who assisted in the sensitization exercise and press men who gave media coverage to the programme.
The programme which started with welcome address by the Executive Director of CDCF, Alh Iskil Yussuf, had each family given food items like rice, beans, noodles as well as nose masks. Giving of palliatives to the parents of our school children was described as psychosocial support which is not strange to our organization.
They were properly sensitized on what corona virus is and how to avoid being infected. The sensitization exercise was carried out by the guests invited to the programme. During the programme, the parents and their children were educated on:
- The need and how to wash hands regularly and properly with soap and running water
- Physical distancing and why it is necessary to maintain distance.
- The use of sanitizer if available to them.
- How to eat right without having to spend so much.
- The importance and need to always wear mask in public places.
- The symptoms of the disease which are: breathing with difficulty, sore throat, throat scratching, chest pain, dry cough, persistent sneezing, high body temperature, headache, tiredness, diarrhea, skin rashes and loss of smell or taste.
They were strongly advised to quickly seek medical care if they have any of these symptoms or notice such in people around them.
On their children’s education as the main focus of our organisation, the Executive Director admonished them on the need to ensure the children are seriously engaged in their studies as well as restrict their movement and given proper guidance during this trying period of indefinite school closure as no one is sure of when the schools will reopen.
The parents expressed happiness at the palliative support which came in addition to the educational support they regularly enjoy from CDCF.
The parents were finally urged to stay safe with their children always.