The COVID-19 pandemic is making the global child care crisis even more worse, with many parents struggling to find ways to feed families lots of children are being abandoned along the way. Many are left without strong nurturing care to sustain positive development, this is making children in the developing world more vulnerable to abuse, most especially sexual abuse ; For Girls and children with Disabilities(CWD) the situation is even further exacerbated .

While the Ugandan Ministry of Education and Sports has not been very clear on reopening of schools.
The Early Childhood Development Policy in the Education sector approved in 2007 stresses that children should enjoy the right to development whether at home, in a formal or semi-formal pre- school setting.

In Uganda, the lock down has kept 2,050,403 young children out of early learning development centers;
It is quiet absurd because Pre-Primary Education a constituent of Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) is widely recognized as a critical period in children’s physical, mental and psych-social development.
Pre-Primary is considered the first stage of general education and all children should complete it by age 7.

But here and now the COVID-19 crisis has interrupted the Education system, before the COVID- 19 pandemic;
UNICEF Uganda reported that only a tenth of children between 3 and 5 years are enrolled in formal Pre-primary education. Outcast Activists Forum recognizes that a lot really needs to be done and a lot of emphasis need to be put on Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE).

So as way to lend support to Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4) and Early Childhood Development at large.
OAF-U will provide home learning and play materials to Pre-Primary children in vulnerable communities around the country to make sure that children’s development cannot be insulated at any point.

By Dean Walusimbi- Programmes director