Responding to COVID-19 Challenges - Africa & India

When we stared this fundraising appeal back in May 2020, we did not expect to still be running it in 2022. Sadly, the need is as great now as it was then. Please read on for an update from our partner projects in India, Zambia, Benin, Kenya and Rwanda.

The children supported by HATW’s partner projects have all experienced the interruption of their education – we reported last time that the children who attend the New Life Centre school in Sarberia, India have missed out on 18 months of class time. We were delighted to hear that they returned to school in December, and everyone was hoping for a new start in 2022. However, due to a surge in cases, the children are learning at home again now and reopening has once more been delayed. As most pupils don’t have access to online learning, they are handing out hard copies of work, which is being returned and marked by teachers.

At Pizz school in Zambia, the new school term was also delayed due to an increase in Covid cases. Thankfully, the delay was only for a couple of weeks and the children are back now. We are in discussion with our partners at Pizz about what is needed to keep everyone safe. Thanks to your support, we will be able to send the necessary funds for replacing some of the handwashing buckets that broke and to purchase more supplies of sanitiser etc.

For the communities we support, Covid is just one of the challenges they are facing. There have been problems with drought, flooding, and storms. At Kaliyangile Training Centre in Zambia, a storm blew the roof off the toilet block, which was already in need of repair. We are working with our partners there to construct pit latrines as a temporary measure so that training can commence, while we apply for funding to rebuild the block. We will also ensure that there will be suitable handwashing facilities available.

In Benin, things are running pretty much as normal and to date there have been no Covid cases at Chez Papa Geoff (CPG). The orphanage is now at full capacity with 24 children and 17 children are now sponsored through the Hand-in-Hand child sponsorship scheme. Here too, a storm took the roof off the barn, which has since been repaired. Overall, things are progressing well on the farm, and they are well able to grow enough food for all the children living at CPG. This has helped them during the pandemic when all over the world people have struggled with loss of income and rising food prices.

In Kenya, we supported the Disability Community Centre (DCC) to purchase 3 new laptops for their office as staff were previously sharing one outdated computer. The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for access to good technology. The new laptops have improved efficiency and opened doors to the wealth of information and training available online.
In 2021, the DCC were able to hold an event again to celebrate International Day of Persons with Disability on the 3rd of December. This wasn’t possible in 2020. The event took place outdoors and thanks to your support, we were able to ensure that all safety precautions (masks, sanitizer etc.) were in place with respect to preventing the spread of Covid-19.

Our colleagues at Hands Around The World Jersey were hoping to travel to Rwanda at the end of last year to visit their partners there, but unfortunately the travel restrictions were prohibitive. At least Ryankana school were able to host a socially distanced Christmas party for the children even if Jersey friends couldn’t be there.

We are extremely grateful for your support, which enables our partners to continue their vital work with vulnerable children and young people. With your help, we can support our partners to adapt and continue operating their programmes with the required safety measures in place to help prevent the spread of Covid-19. This is especially important given the discrepancy in levels of vaccination in low-income versus high-income countries.