Covid-19: EMERGENCY RESPONSe

Thank you for joining us to support the world’s most vulnerable

While most of us around the globe are affected by the Covid-19 pandemic in some shape or form, people already living in poverty are without a doubt some of the world’s most vulnerable citizens. Our local project leaders are urgently responding to emerging needs and delivering front-line responses to prevent the spread of Covid-19, support people through strict lockdown periods, and ensure they are as prepared as possible to save lives when Covid-19 peaks in their communities. Here are a selection of the current projects we’ve been able to fund with your support:

3D PRINTING - ventilators and pPE face shields

As with many other countries around the world, Bangladesh has a severe shortage of PPE and ventilators to support their 165 million citizens. With reports that construction workers returning from Europe who’ve been asked to self-isolate haven’t been doing so due to not fully understanding the urgency and requirements, Bangladesh experts are expecting an intense outbreak of Covid-19 to hit the many densely-populated slums and towns which will put an enormous strain on existing health resources.

Just Peoples’ long term project leaders Mushfiqur, an electrical engineer, and Bushra, a microbiologist, collaborated with ventilator experts and medical professionals to modify MIT’s FDA-approved design of a 3D printable emergency ventilator. After thorough testing in public hospitals with respiratory therapists and medical staff, the ventilator was proved effective and received certification for 3D printing and distribution. They are now at the final stages of assembly and testing and meeting with hospitals to discuss rolling out the emergency ventilators on a mass scale.

The ventilators are battery run, meaning that they are mobile and suitable for emergency treatment when patients are unable to breathe on their own. The ventilators are suitable for emergency use for one to two hours until patients are able to access hospital care.

With five 3D printers working round the clock, Mushfiqur and Bushra can produce 9 or 10 ventilators per day, for $67 AUD each. The emergency ventilators are being donated to public hospitals that have been designated for the Covid-19 response, as well as ambulances which have very little medical equipment to support emergency treatment. 

Mushfiqur and Bushra are also 3D printing face shields for emergency front-line medical staff so they can stay safe while they support and treat infectious patients. The shields are also a modification of international protective wear, tested and certified to protect against infection (currently in use in the NHS). 

The cost of printing one face shield is $1.20 AUD each, and Mushfiqur and Bushra have printed 1,000 face shields so far. These face shields are being delivered and used in Covid-19 public hospitals, by front-line medical staff in the ICU, in ambulances, and by volunteers who conduct Covid-19 testing at people’s homes.

food delivery SERVICES AND CASH TRANSFERS

Our Vietnamese Project Leader Hong supports over 30,000 other single mothers in Vietnam to become self-sufficient, so they don’t have to rely on abusive partners. Many of the women she supported to set up their own small businesses have had to stop working because of Covid-19, and the enterprises they fought hard to establish have gone out of business, as they can no longer operate during lockdown.

Hong quickly taught the women how to pivot their operations and run an online business. She got them cooking and delivering meals to people who don’t have food at home. The food delivery business is currently employing 8 single mothers as cooks and distributors and provides much-needed access to food for many vulnerable families in lockdown every day.

Hong is also providing the most vulnerable single mothers, who are struggling to feed and support their families during lockdown, with cash transfers to be used for emergency food and medical supplies. Having access to this cash means they can remain self-sufficient and support their children without having to return to violent relationships.

Distributing food parcels to FAMILIES living in densely populated slums

Our Project Leaders Shah and Sharnila build bespoke water filtration systems in communities that don’t have clean drinking water. Through their work they’ve spent a lot of time in Bangladesh’s densely-populated slums and when Covid-19 hit, they quickly started organising food parcels for families that won’t be able to earn money for food during lockdown.

Many slum dwellers rely on wages they earn day-to-day and if they can’t leave their home to work, they have no money and no food. As part of the Just Peoples Covid-19 Response, Shah and Sharnila have been able to deliver food parcels to over 400 families as well as 157 at-risk individuals, enabling them to survive the first stages of lockdown. A donation of $20 AUD can provide a family with 14 days’ worth of rice, lentils, potatoes, onions and oil, as well as face masks and antiseptic soap.

Another Just Peoples Project Leader, Sharmin, is also distributing food parcels to vulnerable Bangladeshi families. Sharmin’s parcels include 2 packs of sanitary pads for each girl in the household. This will ensure girls don’t need to use rags during menstruation which can cause complicated health issues, while resources are scarce.

ESTABLISHING hand-washing stations in REMOTE communities

In remote villages in Maasailand, Kenya, there is no running water or soap, so people living there are unable to wash their hands properly to stop the spread of Covid-19. There is also a lack of accurate information about Covid-19 and how it is transmitted.

Our Project Leader Liz goes to the most isolated homesteads and establishes hand-washing stations (at a cost of $26 AUD each) to enable community members to wash their hands, protecting themselves and each other. She brings large water tanks and gallons of liquid soap to serve the community and has established 10 hand-washing stations to date.

Liz also brings large supplies of nutritious porridge so these Maasai communities still have access to food when all nearby stores are shut. Liz is targeting this food distribution to the most vulnerable community members, such as children living with disabilities, so they can gain strength and increase their immunity in case of a Covid-19 outbreak.

While Liz is distributing supplies she also provides awareness raising sessions to advise best practices to prevent the spread of Covid-19 and highlights the importance of physical distancing.

Education, FOOD SECURITY AND SUPPORTING LOCAL BUSINESSES

In Mathare slum in central Nairobi, our local Project Leader Douglas has had to close his education centre during government lockdown, but he has remained committed to supporting children and their families through Covid-19. Douglas has developed a simple SMS system to disseminate verified Covid-19 health information through basic mobile phones. After reading the information and attempting a quiz with their new found knowledge, each family receives an SMS voucher to pick up a month’s worth of dry food supplies from a range of participating local shops to get them through lockdown.

This system benefits the wider community as people learn how to stem the spread of Covid-19, and local businesses are able to serve their customers. Douglas has supported 50 families so far and is also planning to use the SMS system he has created to provide standard education directly to the kids, so they can continue learning from home.

If you’d like to support this urgent work, please donate or fundraise to help us save more lives in Bangladesh, Vietnam, Kenya and Uganda,

To learn more about our Covid-19 emergency response, contact Jo by email: jo@justpeoples.org or phone: +61 474 977 140.