Students’ COVID art becomes outreach tool to Kampala slums

In Kampala slums, very few wear masks, let alone practise social distancing. The argument has largely been that you cannot really worry about contracting COVID-19 when you don’t have anything to eat and are starving. But a students’ initiative, through art, is encouraging the slum dwellers in the East African city to safeguard against the fourth wave of the coronavirus, even when they are hungry.

The students, mainly from the Margaret Trowell School of Industrial and Fine Arts at Makerere University, Uganda, have crafted art pieces themed around the coronavirus disease and its prevention and are using the drawings to demonstrate to the shantytown occupants why they still need to wear masks, social distance and take a jab in the fight against COVID-19.

“We know that art can be powerful, so we are using our visual creative prowess to improve awareness around COVID-19 and to play a role in the fight against the pandemic,” said Hikimah Ssembatya, a student of industrial art and design at Makerere University and one of the initiative’s leaders.

“Specifically, we are targeting young people, the vulnerable youths in our slums who did not get a chance to go to school,” said Ssembatya. “We want to encourage them to continue to wash their hands, keep their masks on and social distance at least until this coronavirus crisis is averted.”

The students have moved from Makindye to Nakawa and from Rubaga to Kawempe divisions in Kampala, encouraging young people to follow the standard operating procedures, or SOPs, for prevention of COVID-19. After the Kampala slums, the students plan to stage similar outreaches in neighbouring Wakiso district slums.

Navigating around the lockdown

Ministry of health reports indicate that 127,877 Ugandans have contracted COVID-19, while 3,265 have died since last year. But the pandemic has affected slum dwellers and young people most.

“The majority of them are a hand-to-mouth lot who live off their ability to move to town centres every day,” said Herbert Mukisa, a community leader in Kawempe Division.

“They have not had adequate food to eat since the coronavirus hit and government imposed lockdowns to stem its spread,” he said.

The government distributed maize flour and beans to some of the most vulnerable people affected by the lockdown last year. It disbursed USh100,000 (US$28) to selected disadvantaged persons early in 2021. Mukisa said this was not enough.

People hoped the government would reopen the economy after COVID-19 cases dropped, but a new variant (Omicron) threatens this possibility.

“We just want to encourage these vulnerable groups to continue to protect themselves against the coronavirus,” said Ssembatya.

“Yes, times are hard, but we want to demonstrate to them that we still have a coronavirus crisis on our hands and can’t afford any complacency.”

The 15 students have recruited other volunteers and community leaders and hold community outreaches where they explain to fellow young people why they still need to wear their masks, wash hands and maintain social distance.

Billy Akankwasa, another industrial fine arts student at Makerere University, said the students planned to start their initiative in June last year, but they couldn’t figure out how to progress, in part, because universities were closed (institutions of higher learning in the country resumed contact learning in November) and the students were scattered.

They formed a WhatsApp group and met over Zoom and agreed to start their initiative with an art exhibition.

Exhibition

The students held their Masks-On exhibition at the national museum in Kampala in October this year and displayed a number of drawings that depicted the coronavirus crisis in the country and the various interventions the government had instituted to thwart the pandemic.

For instance, one drawing portrayed how COVID-19 has tied the African child’s hands, and literally.

The child’s candle has burnt out, and education (mathematical set) is no longer a priority. The little boy is now holding onto hope and a belief in his heart that, somewhere in Africa, someone can light his candle again.

But, while he waits, he will play his part. He will wear his mask, which is the message that the students are emphasising.

Another drawing showed a child wearing a kavera (piece of polythene) for a mask. Akankwasa said the art piece explores how the coronavirus has been particularly hard on the children.

More than 1,000 art enthusiasts attended the weeklong exhibition.

Matthias Schauer, the German ambassador to Uganda, who was the guest of honour, commended the students for using their craft to generate dialogue, create awareness and help find solutions in the fight against COVID-19.

Now, the students are using the proceeds from the exhibition to move from slum to slum engaging the shantytown occupants to observe SOPs and safeguard themselves against the pandemic.

Prioritising young people

“Young people are our priority,” said Ssembatya. “We hold meetings, similar to community outreaches, where we interact with the youth in these areas and encourage them to follow the guidelines set by the government to stop the coronavirus.”

Akankwasa said the students were basically “creating awareness” about the coronavirus and sensitising the masses about the importance of vaccination in its prevention.

“We have lots of myths surrounding coronavirus vaccines here,” said Akankwasa. “Some people say that the vaccines which are shipped to Africa are poor quality and don’t work. We are addressing these myths and encouraging people to go and take a jab.

“We want to amplify the importance of vaccination in the fight against the virus,” said the student.

“We know life in the slums is very hard,” he continued, saying that people do not have enough to eat and don’t have clean drinking water. “But the message is that they still have to protect themselves. If they protect themselves against this pandemic, they can live to fight another day.

“We want to contribute to the government’s target (of vaccinating at least 50% of the population) by encouraging young people to go and get vaccinated,” said Akankwasa.

Emmanuel Ainebyoona, the senior public relations officer for the local ministry of health, said the students were complementing its messages.

Moses Serugo, an arts enthusiast in Kampala and head of lifestyle and entertainment at the Vision Group media house, said: “They (students) are identifying with other young people in the slums and showing them why they have to follow these SOPs.”

But there are challenges.

Many slum dwellers do not have access to clean water to consistently wash their hands and cannot afford masks. In some instances, the students have had to buy reusable masks for them.

There is also a shortage of vaccines and the government is still prioritising key populations such as persons over 50, students, teachers, army officers and individuals with underlying medical conditions. This leaves many young people out.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni said the government hoped to procure 11.9 million doses of vaccines by the end of December 2021. It has administered only 7.6 million COVID-19 doses.

But the students will play their part.