Obstacles During a Pandemic at Uganda’s OneMama Health Center

Hello, OneMama World Family.  How are you? It has been a heavy few months and the OneMama Team wants to check in and connect with you and offer an update on the current climate of the health of our OneMama community and family.

As you know, OneMama.org operates a health center (as well as many other programs) in rural Uganda, Africa. What you may not know, is we run on a small staff working behind-the-scene here in the United States, and us here want you to know we are with you in feeling the pain of the current times. We are feeling it from all sides – living in America in this uncertain time while working hard to advocate for people of color AND also running an organization that works to better the lives of impoverished African communities in Uganda.

“What is the next step for small charities on the frontlines?”

Siobhan Neilland, our OneMama founder and CEO, has been on the front-lines of issues facing these communities for years and has been very vocal, especially in the U.S., about the political climate and racial tension facing our world and the country. 

Recently, we have all been asking ourselves hard questions and one of the main ones is, “What is the next step for small charities on the frontline?” We hope to cover that thoroughly over the coming weeks, but before we get into concrete action plans from our base, we want to update you on what is happening in our village over the past few months and how they have been impacted by COVID-19 and the racial climate. 

In case you don’t know how OneMama.org gains funding, I’ll fill you in…

We don’t.

Yes, you’ve read that right… OneMama does not have any grants or government assistance to keep our health and community center open. A center that provides health care, maternity care, educational programs, and economically sustainable solutions to hundreds who live on less than $1.25 a day in rural Africa.

OneMama relies solely on three ways to bring in money to the clinic:

1. Donations from people like you!
2. Income from our self-sustainable programs in the village like selling handmade crafts at local markets and harvesting crops to sell.
3. Clinic fees, when and if patients can make their way to the clinic in the first place. 

To break it down even more, the 10 active sustainable programs only bring in one third of the income needed to keep the doors of the clinic open.  With this in mind, you can imagine the devastating impact of the shut-down the coronavirus has caused to our Ugandan community. 

Where do we stand currently?

Well, to be honest, the Uganda OneMama Center only has about 3 months left of food and medical supplies without any prospects for replenishing these essential needs. 

Times are dire. Donations are gone. Our OneMama Family needs desperate help.

People all over the world have lost jobs and are personally struggling like never before. We understand why our donors are not contributing like they would in the past. This is another reason why, for the past several years, we have been putting so much energy into OneMama’s sustainable development goals so we can rely less and less on donations and more on our own sustainable solutions.

But when the whole world shuts down, and supply chains are cut off, and there is no transportation, and no one is buying the goods we sell because they have to feed their own family, then what can we do? The people selling the crafts and harvesting the food are also trying to just feed their own families. The results of this are creating a lot of hardships right now for our OneMama family on the grounds in Uganda. 

One unexpected impact from the current climate is a recent rise in unwanted pregnancies in the village as people have not been able to access birth-control. 

Another unexpected impact is an increase in domestic violence cases within our community.

These are just two examples of the domino effect this pandemic has had on the rural OneMama community. Everyone has been impacted by these world events, no one has been spared.

We just cannot forget those who are especially vulnerable, those with no access to basic human needs.

So we ask you… our loyal followers…

As a small charity health organization on the frontlines, what next steps would you take?

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts to our readers and supporters for being with us as we navigate these uncharted waters as an organization. If you feel inspired and can spare just as little as $5, please help and donate here.

All our best,
The OneMama Team
“We are all OneMama on this One Mother Earth.”
“We all want to feel like we are loved and we matter in this world.”