You are my saviors - 75-year-old praises relief food distributors

Apr 14, 2020

The food distribution team, who include Local Defense Unit personnel and UPDF were guided to her room. They found her cooking from inside her room.

HEALTH  RELIEF 

KAMPALA - Fatuma Nalubega (75) has for some time survived by the mercy of well-wishers and neighbors. She stays alone after her family deserted her. She is now old, sick, weak and without a source of income for a livelihood. 

 75year old atuma alubega after receiving food at her home in ubiri ing oad zone in atwe 1 in ampala pril 132020 hoto by ddie sejjoba 75-year old Fatuma Nalubega after receiving food at her home in Lubiri Ring Road zone in Katwe 1 in Kampala.(Photo by Eddie Ssejjoba)

 
Neighbors have always checked on the fragile ‘Jajja' as she is popularly known, to provide some little food for daily survival until on Monday, April 13 when the Office of the Prime Minister started distributing COVID-19 relief food in Katwe, one of the highly populated slums in Kampala city.  

The food distribution team, who include Local Defense Unit personnel and UPDF were guided to her room. They found her cooking from inside her room. 

 
Nalubega had to be supported by a local council official out of her room to receive her food.

Despite a disturbing poor vision, she put on a smile, though finding difficulty to recognize the team that had brought her the food. 

"Ooh my God, what is this, I am overwhelmed with joy," she murmured. 

The UPDF officer identified as AB Bertin, who commanded the team handed her two tins of milk, one kilogram of sugar, a bag of maize flour and beans as LC officials cheered for her. 

 
There was however concern whether her food would be safe.

Nalubega said she has three daughters but they were living on their own in other parts of the city. She could not easily recall their names.

Angella Namukasa, a Red Cross volunteer talked to her briefly to register her details like the rest of the beneficiaries in Lubiri Ring-Road zone, Katwe 1 Parish.

 

 
Namukasa said that on the day the team distributed relief food to 77 families, which included 1,146kilograms of beans and the same amount of maize flour, 12 tins of milk and 12 kilograms of sugar.

She, however, said there were several other families that were yet to receive their share.

 

 
The soldiers and LDU, however, roughed up a man who was found seated on a doorstep of a house after they later established it was not his home. The area LC1 chairperson, Aisha Mwanje tried in vain to plead that the man was known in the area although he did not have a permanent place of aboard.

In other zones, however, the distribution could not go ahead after the teams realized that the amount of maize flour did not match with beans.

 

 
The LDUs and UPDF soldiers remained stranded in a football field at Katwe as they were told to keep waiting for more supplies.

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