Responding to the Impacts of COVID-19 in our Communities

The arrival of COVID-19 early in 2020 ushered in a new global era. In the face of this world-wide pandemic, Global Development Group partners and donors responded generously to the needs in their communities and regions.

Many partners have distributed packs to families including basic food and hygiene supplies to assist while the family income is depleted. Across our child and medical projects, medical staff and carers have worked extended shifts staying onsite and spending time away from their own families to prioritise the vulnerable babies, children and patients in their care, keeping them safe and isolated. We’ve seen beneficiaries learning to sew face masks for distribution to the community. Our education projects have developed creative ways to continue students’ learning such as providing take home packs of educational resources and maintaining contact with students through radio programs, social media and home visits.

With the restrictions on travel, the GDG team are adapting how we engage with our in-country partners, with increased use of video and phone calls in lieu of in-person monitoring and training. Among our partners, we’ve seen board meetings shift to online video conferences and fundraising platforms relied upon for end of financial year campaigns. We already have an extensive network of qualified and experienced In-Country Representatives who will continue to support our monitoring and training into 2021. We won’t allow the pandemic to stop our important work.

Snapshot of GDG project responses to COVID-19:

• Ethiopia J251N: food for 900+ people & emergency support
• DR Congo J730N: hospital declared centre of COVID-19 care for Goma
• Thailand J595: 2100 masks sewn by staff & students for
• Nepal J1000N & Uganda J747: radio station reached 6 million with health education
• India J651: sewn & distributed 18,000+ masks
• Laos J1065N: teachers from 15 schools trained to lead hygiene campaigns
• Sri Lanka J696N: vouchers for food at local stores
• Cambodia J942N: teacher training delivered online during lockdown
• South Africa J586N: support students’ education with 500 smart phones