In an old, rusted crib, Jajja Nalubwama tends after 17 children.

Many people’s lives have been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. The consequences have been terrible for the elderly, such as Nuriat Nalubwama.

Alone. Frightened. Destitute. Desolate. Those words are inadequate to convey the status of Nalubwama.

Nalubwama’s house in Entebbe’s Manyagwa 2 community is unfit for occupation. It’s an old mud and wattle structure that’s seen better days.

“Raising 17 children is difficult, but we are surviving by God’s grace.” “Life isn’t easy since we have to sleep in a single room that is cracked and on the verge of collapsing on us,” she explained.

Nalubwama earned 65,000 per month as a cleaner at Botanical Gardens prior to joining Covid-19 in 2020. She is currently unemployed and has become a beggar.

“I don’t have any other responsibilities.” I’ve worked as a sweeper in these gardens for years, but we were forced to stop when the gardens closed due to the epidemic. So far, we’ve had support from the neighborhood, and the Red Cross Association has lent us a hand whenever feasible,” Nalubwama said, her eyes welling up with tears.

When we questioned where their parents were, Nalubwama replied she had seven children, four of them died, leaving her with 17 grandchildren.

“I had seven children, four of whom died, leaving me with my grandchildren.” I’m responsible for them because they have nowhere else to go. I wish I had someone to assist me. “It’s difficult to raise them alone,” she explained.

A golden heart has been bestowed upon Nalubwama. Despite her predicament, she claims to have adopted one of the 17 children, Muzeyi, who was discarded on the banks of Lake Victoria.

“He was wrapped in a piece of paper that read, ‘I am leaving this baby here for whoever can take care of him,'” she added. ‘He’s nine months old,’ says the mother.