MARCH NEWSLETTER: WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER!

To our dear friends,

The entire Brick by Brick family, both in Uganda and here in the US, hopes that this newsletter finds you and your families healthy and safe in these most trying of times. We are living through an experience that will change us all in ways we can’t truly fathom at this point. Like all of you, we are moved by the millions of acts of kindness from people all over the world, which is a balm to soothe this anxiety filled moment. Literally billions of people are making decisions on a daily basis to help stem the tide of this global pandemic. Surely, if there was any doubt before, it is clear now that we, all beings who share this fragile planet, are in this together.

On Saturday night, we learned that the first Covid 19 case has been confirmed in Uganda. As of this morning, we stand at nine. We all know that even in the US with its advanced medical system, it is likely that many of our hospitals will be overwhelmed by the evermounting numbers of patients in need of critical care. Here in the US, there are fewer than 100,000 ICU beds or approximately 303 beds per million population. In Uganda, there are 55 functional ICU beds for 40 million people, 80% of them in Kampala, where only 10% of the population resides. That is just 1.4 ICU beds per million population, less than 0.5% of the US capacity.

As I write this email, all schools in Uganda have been closed, all meetings and religious services banned, as we all work to avoid what would be a humanitarian catastrophe if the virus spreads more widely. In the face of all of these challenges, our work to improve the health of women and their families continues. In the coming weeks, with our Australian partners, FreO2 Foundation, we will be sending 30 oxygen concentrators to Uganda, which will help fill a serious gap in addressing Corona.

Over the past sixteen years, if our work has taught us anything it is that a dedicated global community with a shared vision, can move mountains. With your support, we have created strong and lasting partnerships with local government and rural communities to dramatically improve health, education and economic opportunity for the half million people we serve. In the coming months, as we all deal with the economic recession brought on by the Corona pandemic, we will face challenges in meeting the needs of our communities. We have decided to postpone our 9th Annual Blues Night Fundraiser until the fall. Your support now can help us do our part in serving the women and children of Uganda in the face of this emergency. Every dollar donated will be immediately be put to work to ensure our communities stay healthy and that together, we weather this storm. Clicking here on Take Action will allow us to continue our work serving the women and children of Uganda.

Thank you all so much for your support. Please stay healthy and let's continue to care for each other in the coming months.

All the best,

Brick by Brick's Board of Directors

PS Brick by Brick is fortunate to have a team of public health physicians on staff. Please feel free to reach out to us with any questions or just to stay in touch. Email at info@brickbybrick.org