Long-term Resilience Building in Dominica

IsraAID Dominica has partnered with the government of Dominica through the Ministry of Public Works and The Digital Economy and the UNDP, to create 'Work Online Dominica', a pilot initiative to teach 60 young professionals (ages 18- 40), over the course of 12 weeks, on how to get started working online, find new sources of income, and increase financial stability.

The skills developed during this program prepares young professionals to build a career online, which is becoming increasingly important amid the present COVID-19 economic climate. The program was created to provide training and support for participants on their journey to developing a sustainable digital career, generating income online by leveraging and building their skills. 

After just three online digital employment training sessions, one participant found they could already notice the benefits of the program:

“The amount of information I learn in every one of our sessions is so much, and empowers me to do so much more online. It's crazy!”

By Week 7 of the program, 10 participants had already started receiving income from work they have completed online.

Emily Rolle, a Customer Care Specialist and Human Resources Specialist, has found her way in the online marketplace:

"My biggest takeaway is that it's possible. This online work, really really works. If you put in the time and you apply what we are learning, the program really works. The opportunity online is endless right now. It's for everybody."

She told us about her first job. "I was a bit nervous, but communication with the client was easy and now I have a 5-star review on Fiverr (an online employment platform)." 

Marlon Moses, an English and Spanish translator, has already landed a long-term position with a radio show. He has found translating radio audio to be very rewarding so far:

"Whatever I input, I get the output. So far it has been great. As of right now, we are in a pandemic, and a lot of people lost their jobs. The digital economy is the way forward right now. Many skills can be converted into a job online."

The impact of COVID-19 is felt everywhere, but in Dominica, we have continued our work with the Ministry of Education to ensure that our youngest beneficiaries still have plenty to keep them occupied.

"Despite the need for physical distancing during this time, we wanted to offer support to parents, caregivers, and most importantly young children. Instead of our regular interventions, we decided to engage with children virtually through interactive, tailored to context, recreational activities online. Along with the virtual activities, over 300 children on the eastern side of Dominica received a physical recreation kit with DIY arts and crafts materials, as well as an activity book, and a toolkit of suggested tips for parents relevant to this emergency" - IsraAID Country Director, Dana Yaari. 

The team has created recreation kits for distribution to children in the community, which allows the children to still have access to education and mental health resources, even if we cannot meet face-to-face. In the kits are activity books for the children - with any specific supplies required for the arts and crafts activities - as well as a COVID-19 toolkit for parents, which aims to support parents during this challenging time. It's important that the children are able to keep their brain active and continue their education, and it is equally important that their parents are in a position where they are able to support their children. The toolkit for parents provides information regarding the virus, as well as different strategies for managing their children's education and dealing with this intense time for the family. 

We have also started a Virtual Recreation Room - My Virtual Buddies and I - where IsraAID staff have been running different sessions for some of IsraAID's youngest beneficiaries. The platform is aimed at children aged 3-5, and allows them to interact with the local presenters - the virtual buddies - who provide stimulating activities for the children to engage with from their home. This is done through pre-recorded sessions that may be stories, songs, or arts and crafts activities. 

Below are some of the activities that we have already shared:

• Dernel started the activity with a song, introducing herself to the audience, and then told an exciting story about a spider and a tiger with lots of animation
• Becca introduced herself as a friend to the children and ran a fun activity on how to make a Bottle Shack Shack, a fun and easy-to-make musical instrument that can be made with items found around the home or garden. She then sang 'Wheels on the Bus', using a different shack shacks for different parts of the song.
• Dernel showed the children how to make puppets out of paper bags or cardboard boxes that they might already have at home. This was in anticipation of a future puppet show that will be in the Virtual Recreation Room.

There has been a lot of engagement all over the country, with teachers and parents sending videos of their children engagement, painting, and creating! 

Thank you for your continued support of IsraAID.