Covid 19 Is Real
Health is a cross cutting issue we cannot overlook, however, by virtue of it being cross cutting, it is not overshadowed by the other focal areas. This has been proven true in the instance of the pandemic which took the world by storm since 2019. In this project, Uluntu sought to strengthen the resilience of rural communities to be able to withstand the effects of the pandemic. We targeted 15 communities where we embarked on Covid preventative trainings and also went a step further to include soap and face mask making trainings. This was done for two main reasons. The first one was that we wanted a covid 19 free society in rural Gwanda where everyone could access Personal Protective Equipment without the need to travel long distances and the second reason was so that we could give those who had lost livelihoods projects due to the covid induced lockdowns to also recover from the economic shocks felt as a result of the pandemic. As soon as we did the trainings, a number of participants resolved to form associations and groups which would manufacture these PPEs and sell at affordable prices as they eke out a living. In support of these initiatives, Uluntu donated the PPE manufacturing materials to all communities so that they use the materials as business startups. In proving the unity which exists among communities, the communities utilised the material to train other community members on how to manufacture the PPEs, with specia attention to soap seeing that the skill will still be relevant even in the period after the covid pandemic.
