Ap Dr. Wilson Evans Kulaba, the Senior Pastor and Founder of Jubilee Christian Life Church International. COURTESY PHOTO.
In Uganda, schools were closed all across the country for several months in bid to avoid COVID-19 spread.
Without the support system of teachers and school administrators, Dr Evans Kulaba urged Sunday that many girls were left vulnerable to teenage pregnancy, early childhood marriage, among other devastating effects of the pandemic.
The Apostle explained that the country should recognize the need for increased engagement with adolescent girls in their communities, as authorities move to make phased school reopening a reality.
Government last month decided to allow learners in semi-candidate classes to resume studies on March 1, 2021. They urged schools and learners to observe the standard operating procedures as they wait for the vaccines.
“In schools, many of the girls in primary six (6), did not return back at school, and were reported to have been in marriages – some were pregnant,” Dr Evans Kulaba said.
“COVID has affected a generation. We need to take up the role, and address the matter. We need proper mentorship,” he added.
Global G.L.O.W., an organisation that seeks to ignite the power of girls as a force for global transformation, reported earlier that at least 128 school-age girls have been married off in the Kyegegwa, Rakai, Kamira Sub-county, Luweero District alone since the pandemic struck.
Dr Kulaba observed that “we cannot raise a generation of illiterate people” hence education officials and the Ministry of Health (MoH) should develop a sustainable frame work in which schools “accepted those who are pregnant to go back and sit for exams.”
We need those girls back to school, he said.
Moving on, Dr Evans Kulaba quoted Isaiah 55:1. He sent out encouragement to those affected by the pandemic saying “that condition is not unto death.”
“Sometimes it might not look like God is moving, but I have good news for you. You might not seen it, but God is moving,” he explained. “Move that mountain by declaring, I am not dying in this condition. Move that mountain by declaring, this situation is not unto death, but to promote me to another level of glory.”
During the Church service, a live discussion was conducted, and one of the panelists, Mrs Christine Kansiime, an accountant by profession, told the audience as a result of the pandemic, she was inspired to work hard even after loosing her job for a short time.
“It (the pandemic) sharpened my mind, and made me look for side business during the lockdown.” Mrs Kansiime introduced listeners to her new ventures which include a chapati business and piggery farm where she still earns till this day.
