How Adore Little Children helped during Covid-19 Lockdown in Okavango Delta.

​Despite the Covid-19 pandemic  Adore Little Children (ADORE) has been able to keep busy on the ground helping wherever they can lend a helping hand. Programmes of ADORE such as Playgroups, Empowerment and training sessions, garden, sewing and carpentry centres were closed until lockdown was lifted and it was safe to resume gatherings, however some activities have continued changing the operations method to suit Covid.
ADORE became part of the Village Emergency Operations Committee (VEOC) after being invited by the Social Worker and Community Development Officer of Ngarange to assist in monitoring movement in the village and issuing of movement permits. Each day the Directors of ADORE assembled with the committee which included Dikgosi, Police, School, Clinic, and Village Development Committee (VDC) at the Ngarange Kgotla (community meeting place) to update on activity or cases. On occasions the committee toured the village to educate about social distancing, washing of hands, and staying at home, wearing of masks and general education on the virus itself and the restrictions made by Government as most people do not receive news in such rural locations.
Farmers were encouraged by Government to supply vegetables and beans which Government would subsidies them for. ADORE assisted in the transportation of vegetables and the physical work of sorting, counting and packing and delivering of the food baskets to the various families listed in Ngarange and Sekondomboro. The families were generally happy to receive food for their households.  
Midwifes from Xakao, a village 30 kilometres from ADORE headquaters,  were able to travel to and from their working station to Ngarange and Sekondomboro to attend to the expecting mothers for their monthly check-ups. ADORE was able to transport them. Tobera mothers were also collected and brought to Sekondombo Clinic.

Additional to these activities ADORE has taken cooked meals to the elderly or donated meat or vegetables to those with disabilities. Children have been encouraged in their yards to continue to practice their writing and reading and recourses have been received by some children. Reading of the bible on Sundays to different families has been exercised. ADORE volunteers are were at home until after the lockdown period. They returned to their work on the 1 June, 2020. There first activity was to restart the garden all over from scratch because cows broke the fence got in and ate all the vegetables. Also we were not able to keep up with the watering due to lockdown. Children Programmes are still on recess. 

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