By Carla Ho (Marketing Communications Intern)
COVID-19 has disrupted normalcy and heavily affected the lives of vulnerable communities across Asia-Pacific and the world. Our fiscal sponsorship partners are working tirelessly to support their local communities.
While these nonprofits all have different focuses, in these times they’ve redirected their energy to the COVID-19 crisis. With their local expertise, staff, and infrastructure in place, they can best assess and understand what their communities need moving forward.
Through various efforts—such as providing PPE to frontline workers or dry rations to low-income families—these organizations are providing essential services on the front lines of the pandemic. Click any organization name to learn more and support their work.
Cambodia
Friends International
COVID-19 has heavily impacted communities that Friends International serve in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Indonesia. To help these vulnerable communities, they’ve been working on meeting urgent emergency relief needs while aiding long-term recovery efforts. They are supporting education and vocational training so that their communities can build new skills and come back from this crisis.
Naga Earth
Naga Earth is working to provide eco-friendly and affordable soap to Cambodians to increase the level of sanitation in Cambodia. Sanitation is especially important during the COVID-19 crisis, so Naga Earth has been accelerating and changing their community hygiene program to best serve the community. They are following all guidelines while producing more soap for Cambodians and for NGO partners.
Pour Sourire d’enfant
Pour Sourire d’enfant (PSE) provides care for children in need. While its center had to close due to COVID-19, PSE is currently providing support to around 1,600 families. They are supplyingfood baskets, rice, and rent payments and need more financial support to help these families stay afloat.
China
To learn more about the extensive COVID-19 work of Give2Asia’s local nonprofit partners in China during the early days of the pandemic, please see our COVID-19 China campaign update.
India
RSKS
Rajasthan Samgrah Kalyan Sansthan (RSKS) works to help marginalized women and girls. During the pandemic, RSKS is providing impacted families with food packets containing spices, rice, oil, vegetables etc. They are also holding a “Together We Can” campaign to spread awareness and promote unity.
Photo courtesy of RSKS
Mann Deshi
Mann Deshi’s response to COVID-19 includes both keeping in touch with the women they are supporting regularly and creating new initiatives. They have relief efforts for vulnerable families and health care workers, while also training women and farmers on how to supply important essential needs such as masks and vegetables. Furthermore, they run a radio program and partner with local authorities to understand how to best help the people.
SEEDS
Sustainable Environment and Ecological Development Society (SEEDS) helps promote community resilience. In response to COVID-19, they are reaching out to 1,000,000 vulnerable persons with rations, hygiene kits, financial support, and psychosocial support. SEEDS is also working to support the local public health systems and create and maintain quarantine centers.
Courtesy of SEEDS
Sukarya
Sukarya works to support gender equality and health care services in its Gender Equality Program. Currently, Sukarya is working to promote social distancing and WASH (Water, Sanitation & Hygiene) amongst the girls in its program, aimed at supporting health at the personal and community level.
Goonj
Goonj (echo, in English), is a social enterprise that supports development in India. Currently, they are providing RAHAT kits to families in need with food rations, toiletries, and other household materials. Given the potential length of this crisis, costs for helping a family can rise.
Hand in Hand India
Photo courtesy of Hand in Hand India
Hand in Hand India is providing food rations and safety kits for 12,000 very poor families in Tamil Nadu State, Gujarat & Maharashtra. They’ve also been working to provide equipment and essential items such as PPE and masks to strengthen government hospitals in Tamil Nadu and to protect sanitary workers.
Oxfam India
Oxfam India is working to provide 49,500 daily cooked meals to laborers and homeless people, while also providing over 100,000 with dry rations that can last for a month. They’ve also distributed 1,600 safety kits and 3,000 PPE kits to frontline workers. Oxfam India’s COVID-19 awareness and information campaigns have reached 4.5 million people, working to help the Indian people through this crisis. They are also responding to Cyclone Amphan.
Photo courtesy of Oxfam India
Japan
Keio University
Keio University, Japan’s first private higher education institute, has been focusing on supporting their community through these times. They’ve created and disseminated information on the COVID-19 crisis and started a support fund for healthcare at their university hospital to benefit students, healthcare workers, and researchers. Keio University has also started the Keio University Degree Completion Scholarship, which provides financial support for students that have been impacted by this situation.
Nepal
Sano Paila
Sano Paila (Little Step in English), a Nepali nonprofit, is working to support the Nepali heavily impacted by this crisis. Supported by donations and volunteers, they have served over 17,000 meals to poor and daily wage earners. Within the healthcare sector, they have also set up contactless testing stations, disinfected hospitals, and provided PPE to frontline workers. Learn more about Sano Paila’s work in this situation update from Give2Asia.
Photo courtesy of Sano Paila
Pakistan
IDSP
The Institute for Development Studies and Practices Pakistan (IDSP) focuses on providing community development education for youth and vulnerable populations in Pakistan. They are asking for financial support to “Protect those who are protecting us”. Through this program, IDSP will provide doctors and paramedical staff in Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan, with PPE such as masks, gloves, and sanitizers.
Photo courtesy of IDSP
Network for Human and Social Development
The Network for Human and Social Development—an education, health, and disaster relief organization—is working to support the hundreds of daily wage earners who are unable to feed their families following the Coronavirus response lockdown. They are distributing rations and PPE as part of relief efforts.
Philippines
Friends of Hope
Friends of Hope, a social enterprise, is working to support those most affected by COVID-19 by providing clean water for the frontline workers and poor communities in Metro Manila. They are working to deliver this water directly to hospitals and impacted communities.
PBSP
Philippine Business for Social Progress is a business-led NGO, contributing to sustainable development and poverty reduction. They are raising funds to support the most vulnerable groups and communities, including essential workers, healthcare workers, and marginalized communities. These funds are used to provide groceries, quarantine spaces, and COVID-19 kits.
Caritas Manila
Photo courtesy of Caritas Manila
Caritas Manila, one of the largest church-based nonprofits in the Philippines, provides human, spiritual and economic support to the poor. They are calling for donations to provide COVID-19 kits to 6,000 poor communities and families in Metro Manila. These kits contain hygiene and cleaning materials along with nonperishable food items.
Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation
The Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation is working on supporting the country strategically and through providing immediate needs. They are building the pandemic response capacity of the healthcare sector, helping with food security for vulnerable communities, and supporting enterprises to protect local economies. They are also working to address the shortage of PPE, lack of testing kits, and lack of ventilators for hospitals.
Photos courtesy of PDRF
Thailand
Baan Dek
Baan Dek Foundation (BDF) focuses on providing access to healthcare, education, and safety services to children living in urban Thai slums and construction site camps. BDF continues to provide its core services while providing additional assistance related to the current situation. They are talking to community leaders to determine what is needed and providing vital supplies such as cleaning equipment and food.
How to Support Local COVID-19 Relief & Recovery
These and many more nonprofits are doing incredibly important and meaningful work. They have shifted their focus to the crisis at hand, making use of all their local knowledge to best support their communities. Now more than ever, these organizations need support. Your donation makes this work possible. Please join us in supporting their immediate needs for COVID-19 relief work and long-term goals as communities and countries turn to recovery.