The Excruciating Story Of Ugandan Kids Through The 2020 Pandemic

We have seen the pandemic start, and we watched it grow from days to weeks to months and eventually years. This is the untold story of Ugandan kids throughout the pandemic. We earnestly prayed it doesn’t clock into decades. COVID-19 has affected the entire world as though it were a small village. In Uganda, all sorts of businesses closed around March 2020 leaving very many jobless as well as clueless because of wildfire-like flu that had emerged to kill thousands daily. For the first time, Kampala resembled a ghost town.

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The Untold Story Of Ugandan Kids Through The Pandemic

Schools were no exception either as you may recall how President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni ordered the students and pupils to return home 24 hours before he officially imposed the TOTAL lockdown on the state. Many of the children below 18 have faced a lot of challenges ranging from underage pregnancy, domestic violence, and learning bad habits to actually acquiring the deadly virus and many painfully dying.

How The Pandemic Benefited Some Children

Surely some children have gotten the best out of the lockdown like the TIKTOK star Brennan Baby who has become famous just by making funny clips while others have learned new skills and become more social. We should note, however, that the massive use of social media has exposed minors. For example, Brennan was exposed to adult humiliation such as insults on Twitter. This is because of their character resembling what other people don’t agree with. There was also unlimited access to all kinds of inappropriate content.

If you took a close look at the changes the pandemic has caused to children, 80% are negative; “why?”, you ask. Well, because children are by nature enthusiastic learners of whatever is placed before them; yes that’s it! Kids will copy whatever you give to them and that’s where the poison is! You can’t expect any good out of random access to different sources of information, well at least very little or relatively insignificant.

How Teachers Should Treat Kids

Now, they have returned to school and we pray they are safe, but that’s not the bigger picture. The bigger picture is that teachers have more work ’cause these lads and chics are fresh out of the pale wild reckless world out there. Teachers ought to be patient with these humans because we have a new scenario where these young ones are aware that their teachers are mortal people too.

What do I mean? Teachers have suffered most in this pandemic since they work in large numbers and they also work with large numbers. Having been often in the limelight, kids could develop disrespect for these amazing people and that’s why physical discipline may not work. Instead, the two parties should listen to one another to see lessons taught and learned conveniently.

In conclusion, children are at the peak of needing knowledge right now more than ever because they have missed out on two years without getting any professional teaching. There are speculations of schools treating kids poorly hence the increase in body sizes among them during the pandemic, but that can also be translated into laziness. An increase in weight is different from healthiness! May God bless all parents who have met all necessary costs to see their kids go back to school because knowledge is power. You are doing your part in making the world a better place and it’s easier to bet on something one has worked for than the one they have simply hoped for!