We can’t quite believe it’s been nearly 2 years since we launched our Covid-19 Appeal. Thanks to your support, we raised £3,322!

Whilst we feel blessed that things have improved, there is still a long way to go. As of the 23rd of January, 83.9% of the UK had received their first and second dose with only 22% of the population of Zimbabwe being fully vaccinated as of the 26th of January 2022. Zimbabwe, like most African countries, is struggling with low rates of vaccination, due to availability issues and also to vaccine hesitancy or public apathy. It’s important for this to improve to prevent further outbreaks which had a hugely negative impact on communities in Zimbabwe.

The negative impact of students being removed from education cannot be understated. Last year we spoke to a local teacher (pictured left) about the impact that lack of education can have on children and young adults. He said that: “Covid-19 had terrible effects on our school in particular and community as a whole. We had some illegal marriages due to the fact that children were not attending school. They had nothing to do. We also had cases of drug abuse rising because the boys as young as 13 or below had nothing to be doing.” Education is clearly a vital tool in not only giving children and young adults the best possible chance in life, but it also keeps them safe.

This month we also celebrated World Education Day and reflected on how difficult 2021 was for so many students in Zimbabwe. When Zimbabwe went into lockdown and students were removed from school, Kelly (right) said “students were told that they would learn online, but it was disadvantaged for us who don’t have cell phones.”

What Next?

Whilst the situation continues to improve, it’s clear Coronavirus is here to stay. Therefore, we intend to continue our Covid-19 appeal to ensure that we can continue to provide appropriate PPE, sanitation stations, at-home learning equipment and more. The children we support in Zimbabwe already suffer immense hardship – we want to ensure that the affects of Covid-19 don’t have a long-lasting impact on their communities. Donate today by clicking the button below so we can continue to stop the spread of this virus and secure a better futures for thousands of children in Zimbabwe.

You can find the previous Covid-19 Appeal updates for March 2020 and May 2020 here!

Author: Olivia Harvey (31/01/22)