Stringent Lockdown in St. Joseph

Our country, especially Kwa-Zulu Natal is at a point where its about to reach the peak of the rising number of cases of the corona virus. Therefore our children’s home made a decision to go on a strict Lockdown.

In the beginning of the month of July St. Joseph CYCC started it’s strict lockdown. This was done because of the rapid increase of positive cases of Covid 19 and the great risk it could impact in our children’s home. Most of our children are immune compromised which is why all our children are not attending school until further notice. Some of them belong to the Antonia- Werr -Creche which is currently closed and the others to a nearby primary school. The school does not have enough means to follow the Covid 19 regulations such as shortage of water and PPEs.

Fortunately the institute managed to put the home schooling system in place. There are two student teachers educating our children. Learners are split into two groups according to their grades for lessons. The little ones are kept busy with drawing and painting. This is the responsibility of one of the Sister’s working in the home with the assistance from the care workers.

This lockdown also meant the care workers have to be in the children’s home full-time. They could no longer go home to their families or to the shops in order to stay safe. Other workers who work from morning till afternoon were asked to work from home. These are the: Social worker, Pedagogic specialist and accountant. No visitors are allowed in the premises. It happened that one of the children’s father had come to visit. He had to stand outside the gate and his two girls had to stand two metres away from the inside. This was very sad as they couldn’t even hug their dad “but this is the only way to keep everyone protected”, said Sr. Assumpta.

In the midst of this difficult situation we are happy that all the children and staff are healthy. The children enjoy playing outside and have improved in their cycling skills as they have more time to ride their bicycles. We hope that everyone remains safe and protected

Text by: Sr. Maria Machi

Photos by: Sr. Fortunata Makwaba

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