28th March 2020
I go for a walk to the local shop. There is a big building up the road that’s behind a high wall with gates, I’ve seen it open before and I believe it’s a medical supplies company. There’s a group of people inside the open gates, people with masks and surgical clothes on, and quite a few large trucks. On the way back from the shops I see the trucks leaving. I wonder whether it is medical supplies or food.
Later in the day I see that President Paul Kagami has initiated a drive to feed those who are struggling through door to door free distribution of food, and has said he also plans to provide essential services such as the supply of water and electricity for free.
"We know that this is not an easy period for most Rwandans, whose livelihoods have been interrupted across the country. But we ask you to be patient. Although we are making good progress, we cannot afford to relax yet,”
The social protection plan will support the most vulnerable in some parts of the three main districts of Kigali where job losses have been hit the worse.
“We need to speed this up. The government will continue to do everything possible, to support Rwandans through this challenging time"
The food relief is being drawn from the country’s National Strategic Grain Reserve under the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources which is used in case of food shortage.
The Ministry of Health posts an update on the current patients with C-19 who are being quarantined and receiving treatment at the medical centre together with photos of life inside.
No one has died from the virus in Rwanda.
In the UK, there have been over 1,000 deaths
The NHS Medical Director says
“Now is not the time to be complacent – we can beat this virus but only if we reduce spread and transmission. If we are to keep within NHS capacity, everyone of us has a part to play…If we can keep deaths below 20,000 we will have done very well in this epidemic”
I saw a tweet in reply that said ‘try telling that to the family and friends of those 2,000! The warnings were there from China and Italy but government failed to act, and why are our borders still open, risking more infections entering, when so many others have closed theirs?’
It is Day 15 for Rwanda and there are 6 more cases bringing the total to 60. The UK on Day 15 had only 9 cases and the US 12. I’m hoping it's the early screening and the testing of all those who have been in contact with the infected that is the reason for this number.
Myself and the other four UK VSO volunteers are contacted again by the Country Director for VSO, and offered the possible opportunity of an emergency flight home. If we stay, we have to sign a document acknowledging that there may be challenges in accessing medical care, but we can see that this is happening everywhere in the world. We all decide that we will stay.