Happier times with the Board of Management and Parent's Association 
at Kabulokor Primary School in Turkana just over a month ago.

Dear Friends,

We hope that you and your loved ones are healthy and safe during these extraordinary times. We in Aidlink are hugely appreciative and grateful for your support of our work.

Right now we are working with our partners in Kenya, Uganda and Ghana to do what we can to prepare for the impact of the coronavirus on the communities with whom we work.

The Governments of Kenya, Uganda and Ghana have taken early and significant steps to protect some of the poorest and most at risk people in the world; schools have closed; large gatherings, including church services are banned and major travel restrictions, international and regional, have been imposed.

The communities with whom Aidlink works with are particularly vulnerable at this time. Children, especially girls, will be most affected; schools closing puts girls at an even greater risk; lack of water and sanitation facilities increases the risk of the virus spreading, and closed borders – even internally, are expected to lead to food shortages which will likely be accompanied by an increase in gender-based violence and other gender associated risks.

I spent most of the month of February in Kenya; spending time in Turkana and Kajiado, in schools and with communities with whom we work. I was delighted in the progress being made and local leadership emerging – it will be required now more than ever. Even though the schools are closed we remain committed to the children, their families and communities in these very challenging times.

Our Dublin office is closed with staff working from home and fundraising events and activities postponed. We are maintaining close contact with our partners, monitoring the situation on the ground and exploring opportunities and solutions to the additional challenges facing the Turkana, Masai and Karamojong.

To continue this work we need your support as some of the most vulnerable communities in the world brace themselves for what is to come.

Yours sincerely,

Anne Cleary, CEO