As new Covid-19 cases surge in the country, victims and survivors of the country’s deadly second wave that was driven by the Delta variant have launched a memorial event aimed at recognising the deceased (including health workers) as heroes.
The group members for whom Covid-19 led to a great sense of loss want to use their experiences to help others.
“The association rotates around the victims of Covid-19, the people who lost their loved ones and families that went through the hard times. We seek to ensure survivors and families don’t forget what they went through during the lockdown,” Mr Kenny Robert Ngudo, the chairperson of Covid-19 Victims and Survivors’ Association, told the Monitor in Entebbe on Thursday.
He added that since the worst death toll was recorded in June last year, “we have come up with a memorial day and thanksgiving to remember our loved ones.”
He further opined that “it’s through this memorial day that we want to help others. We shall have a unified memorial day, and memorial service.”
“We decided, starting from June 13 to June 19, to have a variety of programmes climaxing with a service on Sunday June 19…the survivors’ will be giving testimonies since everyone is a victim in their own way,” he added.
The event will be held at Works playgrounds in Entebbe and the guest of honour will be Mr Mathias Schauer, the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Uganda is currently dealing with a resurgence in Covid infections after the third wave fuelled by the Omicron variant relented in January. The economy was fully reopened the same month.
Mr Andrew Kaggwa, the spokesperson of the Covid-19 Victims and Survivors’ Association, said they have arranged a number of activities, starting with testimonies, vaccination campaigns and prayers, among others.
“This is because we aren’t done with this virus since we are getting reports of new infections. We have got in touch with [Entebbe] Grade B hospital and they are willing to provide services throughout the week. We, therefore, encourage all the people to come and join us,” he said.
