United in Solidarity to support the
most vulnerable
most vulnerable
Our Covid-19 Emergency Response
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COVID-19 Emergency Response
We are all members
of a fragile human family
of a fragile human family
With the spreading of the COVID19 pandemic, we are re-discovering ourselves as members of a global, fragile, but united human family. As GSIF we do our best to keep connected with all our local partners around the world and we are planning together new ways to provide the necessary support to our programs worldwide for vulnerable women, girls and children.
We are well aware that this global crisis exacerbates pre-existing conditions of poverty, isolation, discrimination, affecting disproportionally the most fragile.
We are well aware that this global crisis exacerbates pre-existing conditions of poverty, isolation, discrimination, affecting disproportionally the most fragile.
Vulnerable people pay the highest price
Most schools, training centers, day-care programs, outreach activities, services to migrants, had to be shut down or reduced to minimum, leaving thousands of girls, women and children in extremely precarious conditions, at risk of relapsing in situations of child labour, prostitution, trafficking, domestic violence on children and women, malnutrition, extreme poverty.
This vast population cannot count on proper housing, electricity, water, food and is therefore extremely vulnerable to the risk of being infected, as they live in communities where the health services are inadequate to respond to such a crisis.
Our residential and healthcare programs are suffering as well and while they carry on functioning, they face major challenges to keep residents and patients safe while protecting the health of the staff. Most of our partners try to keep connected, but only in 53% of our projects, sisters and local staff can count on the necessary equipment and skills to effectively work from home and collaborate remotely.
Our residential and healthcare programs are suffering as well and while they carry on functioning, they face major challenges to keep residents and patients safe while protecting the health of the staff. Most of our partners try to keep connected, but only in 53% of our projects, sisters and local staff can count on the necessary equipment and skills to effectively work from home and collaborate remotely.
What we can do
Our Good Shepherd programs are deeply rooted in the affected communities. Our sisters and lay partners have been living there before, during and will continue to serve them after the current crisis.From our rapid assessment, we can report that they are already envisioning alternative plans to provide services and carry on essential activities, while respecting the norms to avoid contagion.
The passion for our mission is stimulating innovative ideas, such as:
- offering psychological counseling for migrant women in Colombia via telephone
- family distribution of hygiene kits and food packages for Venezuelan migrants
- teachers giving classes via Whatsapp for the children of the poorest barrios in Quito
- advocacy campaigns for migrants’ rights launched online in Chile
- sisters delivering protective equipment in the poorest slums of the Philippines
- home packages delivery to families living in isolated tea plantation in Sri Lanka
- converting the soap and detergent production made by women engaged in our social business in Kenya into sanitizers and using the sewing machines to make masks and assemble sanitary kits forthe local population
- awareness raising initiatives on hygiene and disease prevention that consider local traditional cultures and habits in collaboration with village chiefs in DRC
Together with our partners, we are reviewing our plans, re-modulating activities – while adopting measures to ensure safety and health of sisters, staff and people we serve – and reallocating resources to continue our effort to protect and empower women, girls and children. But this is not sufficient to face the challenge to mitigate the impact of this global pandemic on the most fragile communities where we work.
We need help to do more
Support our Covid-19 Emergency Solidarity Project
Your donation will help us:
- prepare and equip our partners to face the emergency in their countries with concrete responses to prevent the rapid spread and support the resilience of vulnerable population in these critical weeks or months: partnering with like-minded and health focused organization, setting up sensitization campaigns distributing informative materials, setting up food & basic goods banks, distribution of hygiene kits for the staff and program participants, offering counseling to mitigate stress and maintain good mental health;
- upgrade the equipment and the technological infrastructures of our offices and partners, allowing them to work from home while remaining connected, purchasing reliable communication devices (laptop, smartphones), air-time and data bundles;
- upgrade the IT and management skills of our partners, offering online courses and remote assistance to help them manage projects even in emergency situations;
- create a contingency reserveto develop a resilience plan to resume activities once the crisis is overand support projectsthat will suffer from declining donations;
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Help the Good Shepherd programs worldwide through these challenging times and donate to our COVID19 Emergency – Global Solidarity Project
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COVID-19 Emergency Response
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An unprecedented global crisis
As the virus keeps spreading, affecting more countries in Asia, Europe, Africa, Middle East, North America, Latin America, and forcing governments to shut down all activities, we have asked our partners in 35 countries to conduct a rapid assessment on how this is impacting our Good Shepherd projects and the lives of the people we serve.
The scenario that emerged is unprecedented and raises great concerns.
- 50% of the countries we work with are currently affected by the virus, and the others are most likely not equipped or willing to detect and report the level of contagion.
- 87% of the projects report that their governments have imposed significant restrictive measures, either very strict (54% country-wide lockdown, 33% partial quarantine and travel bans)
- due to these restrictions 59% of projects are currently frozen and 21% keep functioningadopting preventive measures.
GLOBAL DATA
MEASURE TAKEN BY GOVERNMENTS
CURRENT SITUATION IN THE COUNTRIES
- 32% - Widespread across the country (+100 cases and in multiple cities)
- 29% - Limited number of cases, confined in certain areas (under 100 in the country)
- 39% - No cases/very few (under 100)
LEVEL OF PREPARADNESS
OF LOCAL PARTNERS
OF LOCAL PARTNERS
Excellent: PM and all team equipped to work remotely without major disruption to the activities, plan in place to do remote work and reorganize activities.
Medium: Equipment and skills are available only to a certain extent to remote from remote for a long period.
Very low: Program managers don’t have devices and reliable connection to work remotely from home; staff not equipped to work remotely; venues not equipped for social distancing etc.
Excellent: PM and all team equipped to work remotely without major disruption to the activities, plan in place to do remote work and reorganize activities.
Medium: Equipment and skills are available only to a certain extent to remote from remote for a long period.
Very low: Program managers don’t have devices and reliable connection to work remotely from home; staff not equipped to work remotely; venues not equipped for social distancing etc.
MEASURE TAKEN BY GOVERNMENTS
- 64% - Total Shutdown
- 36% - Medium Measures
- 0% - No response/Don't know
- 0% - Low Measure
Total Shutdown: quarantine for at least 14 days/travel restrictions/social distancing/schools closed /work from the house/curfew/national state of calamity.
Medium Measures: quarantine in some areas, travel restrictions for people coming from unspecified high-risk countries, no meetings.
Low Measures: control of temperature at the airport/ travel restrictions for people coming from specific countries.
Total Shutdown: quarantine for at least 14 days/travel restrictions/social distancing/schools closed /work from the house/curfew/national state of calamity.
Medium Measures: quarantine in some areas, travel restrictions for people coming from unspecified high-risk countries, no meetings.
Low Measures: control of temperature at the airport/ travel restrictions for people coming from specific countries.
Possible or Actual Repercussions on the projects
CURRENT SITUATION IN THE COUNTRIES
LEVEL OF PREPARADNESS
OF LOCAL PARTNERS
OF LOCAL PARTNERS
Possible or Actual Repercussions
on the projects
on the projects
