COVID-19: Next steps to protect HIV+ children, adults, general staff and students
Brent and Leah’s video message to staff and students on Thursday, March 19th
Cherish Family,
On Sunday, we updated you on our concerns for the HIV+ children and adults we serve, prayer requests, and needs concerning COVID-19. If you missed that update, you can read it here.
Yesterday morning, we held a meeting for all Cherish staff and students to inform them of the upcoming changes concerning COVID-19. Cherish's Dr. Gavin spoke to everyone from a medical perspective, and Brent and Leah sent the above video to help staff and students further digest the next steps we have to take. In addition to reiterating last week's message regarding COVID-19 (read the helpful guide he used), Dr. Gavin spoke to our students and staff about the importance of good hygiene and drug adherence while at home. Drug adherence is a significant issue with teens receiving HIV treatment, so we emphasized the importance of being diligent about taking your HIV treatment every day. His message was full of truth and hope as many of those with HIV are quite scared of what is to come with coronavirus.
Our prayer for our supporters is that you and your family are able to find peace amidst the chaos. We hope that you can also find encouragement and hope in the scriptures Brent and Leah shared in the video above.
The Facts:
As of today, there are no known cases of COVID-19 in Uganda, but there are cases in neighboring countries.
On Wednesday, Uganda's President Museveni made a statement to the nation of Uganda putting in place different gathering protocols. The transcript is here.
The gathering protocol that impacts Cherish most directly is the closing of all schools as of Friday at noon for the next 30 days.
Price gouging is happening, particularly with transportation and food.
While they are receiving HIV treatment, many of the patients and students we serve still have compromised immune systems and are susceptible to contracting COVID-19.
Cherish Response:
There is a significant lack of testing available, which could speak to the fact we have no known cases. We are looking to see the possibility of Cherish's health center being able to become a COVID-19 test site.
Today, all 90 of our boarding students will travel home. Please pray for safety as they travel across Uganda to get home!
All of our staff will continue to come to work and we will send people home if they are not needed. President Museveni has stated that workplaces can continue to operate as long as they follow the standard operating procedures put forth by the Ugandan Ministry of Health, which we will follow implicitly.
We will have our counselors and other staff available for counseling for both staff and students.
Last week, we started sensitization of our staff and students as well as sending our medical staff to the small local medical clinics, training them on how to prepare our community.
Cherish has added multiple hand-washing stations around the campus, including at both gates.
At Cherish, we are learning to let go of an idol of control. In theory, we would love to keep some of these boarding students at school to ensure that we can monitor their health, that they're being fed (especially during price gouging), and that they're continuing to learn, but over and over we see that institutions cannot replace families. We had just kicked off the 2020 school year and were so excited for the changes being implemented. We wish we could email our students worksheets to keep their brains engaged on this break, but that is not an option for the kids we serve. The more we hand over the feeling of control to God, the more we can be grateful for how God is handling the situation. We can use our time and resources to prepare Cherish Health Center for a potential outbreak. If the health center does start getting COVID-19 patients, at least our HIV+ students won't be in close proximity to a contaminated area. God has a plan that might be hard to see, but as you forfeit your worries and burdens to Him you'll find peace and gratitude that outshines the anxiety.
As we said on Sunday, we need you now more than ever to come alongside Cherish Health Center to help us prepare for the months to come. Just like you, we are navigating this pandemic one step at a time.
To our financial partners, thank you for sticking with us, even during this difficult time in our world. If you're not giving monthly but you wish to, please sign up here. If you'd like to make a special donation to Cherish Health Center, please click the button below. Any donation amount helps in helping us stabilize and prepare for COVID-19.
Sincerely,
Brent Phillips
Cherish Uganda CEO
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hear and your minds in Christ Jesus.”