The staff of the UN Migration Agency (IOM) have responded to the call by the UN Resident Coordinator, Ms. Rosa Malango, for all UN personnel in Uganda to donate to the most vulnerable people affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Tuesday 19 May, IOM staff presented an assortment of items to Missionaries of the Poor (MOP) in Kisenyi, Kampala. The items included Powder soap, Bar Soap, Cooking Oil, Milk, Pampers, Sugar, Rice and salt worth UGX 4, 692,000. These were supplemented by fresh foodstuffs, eggs and fruits from the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office.

They were handed over by the Resident Coordinator, Ms Rosa Malango; IOM Uganda Chief of Mission, Mr Sanusi Tejan Savage; and IOM staff leadership led by their President Peter Nzabanita.

Founded in 1981 in Kingston, Jamaica, The Missionaries of the Poor (MOP) are an international Roman Catholic religious order with a range of charity undertakings. Present in Uganda since September 2000 they look after underprivileged persons, including abandoned sick, disabled, or dying children, women and men.

Before IOM, staff of UNCDF had raised UGX 10,000,000 for the purchase of personal protective equipment for the safety of frontline health workers fighting the COVID-19 pandemic in Uganda. The equipment included boxes of surgical masks and latex examination gloves, bottles of hand sanitizer and face shields, which were handed over the Ministry of Health on 5 May 2020.

“I call on more UN staff associations to make similar contributions in solidarity with those who are most affected by measures taken to control the COVID- 19 pandemic in Uganda,’ said Ms. Rosa Malango, the UN Resident Coordinator.

IOM Uganda Chief of Mission Sanusi Tejan Savage said: “As IOM, we have a lot of respect for the great work the Missionaries of the Poor are doing here to, support the vulnerable Ugandans under your care. Therefore, when the Staff Association looked around, they selected this mission for support.  We know that this is only a drop in the ocean compared to your needs. But we hope you will kindly accept it as our humble recognition for your noble work.”

 Acknowledging the donation, the Superior of MOP, Brother Moses Kobwemi said the IOM donation had come as a surprise.

“When we started looking for help [to look after children who had returned from schools], the second office we went to was IOM but we were told that the place was closed because of COVID and everyone was working from home,” he said. “We were told to leave our contact so that maybe they would contact us after COVID. And then later, Peter [IOM Uganda Staff Association President] came out of nowhere, an angel from Heaven.”

At the invitation of the superior, the RC gave this special message to the girls who are looked after at the Kisenyi mission, known as Good Shepherd Home:

“Number one, every life matters. You will always meet someone who will tell you, ‘you are not good enough. You look weird. You are strange. You are not beautiful’. Remember beauty comes from the heart. But also remember that every single human being on earth was brought by God. And God does not make mistakes. So you are perfect whichever way you are.

“Secondly, look into your heart to see what you want to be. People will always try to tell you what you can and cannot do, but if you pray and make a decision on what you want to be, you will be surprised where God will take you. I was told I would never finish school. I was told I could not work and be a leader in the UN because I am an African. I was told so many things. And today I am the ambassador of the UN in Uganda, responsible for 3,000 staff.”

Her words of inspiration were greeted by animated clapping by the mostly young girls, many of whom are placed in boarding schools around Kampala.

On 23 April 2020, The United Nations in Uganda launched an appeal for US$316 million with 20 partner organisations to support the country in minimizing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its most vulnerable segments of the population over the next six months.

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For more information, please contact IOM Uganda Public Information officer Richard M Kavuma (ugandapiu@iom.int); Mobile +256 772 709 917.