As Resilient As Ever

Resilience. It represents strength, inspires longevity, and breeds innovation. It’s a word the whole world is living and experiencing right now, and one we use a lot in reference to our partners. At MAMA HOPE, our mission is to champion community-led change. We support locally founded and operated grassroots organizations as they build sustainable, resilient communities. During a global pandemic, this mission is more important than ever.

Our partners, the leaders of these organizations, come from within their communities. They have built their operational plans around their unique circumstances, which vary between cities, towns, and villages; from organization to organization. For instance, in Moshi, Tanzania, extracurricular education usually requires gathering together, because many households don’t have access to smartphones and computers. In Budondo, Uganda, their rural setting means access to crucial services is difficult in the best of times. In many of our partner communities, people live hand-to-mouth and day-to-day, making lockdowns and social distancing a dangerous existence.

Each partner organization has been impacted differently by COVID-19, but what ties them together is their unique ability to determine what is needed and what will work for their circumstances, in consultation with their unique communities. They know that community engagement isn’t just beneficial, it’s imperative. It has been powerful in this season to watch our partners switch gears with grace and apply these common community-led principles to support their communities through the pandemic.

Partner Response

A snapshot of the COVID-19 response being carried out at 3 of our partner organizations.

Our Lady of Perpetual Support (OLPS), Kisumu, Kenya

• At OLPS, the immediate concern in light of COVID-19 was to ensure that their 1,812 HIV/AIDS patients would be able to continue to receive ARV medication without having to come in contact with large numbers of people, or lose access in the event of a lockdown. OLPS quickly deviated from ‘business as usual’ and distributed three months of medication for each patient.
• OLPS is also doing their best to ensure that the sixteen kids staying at the Kisumu Children’s Rescue Center are well protected. When the pandemic hit Kenya, OLPS made it a priority to arrange for a supply of food at the center that could last for the next two months.
• OLPS has rallied women in the community to create a COVID-19 response team. Women tend to be the primary care providers for their families, and they already have strong social ties that help them share information widely. Who better to take on this community response role?

Jacob and Joseph, OLPS Farm Manager and Farm Hand. These two are making sure the OLPS Rita Rose Garden is maintained so that food supply to the Children’s Rescue Center can continue.

BIC Shanti, Luuka and Luwero Districts, Uganda

• When Uganda initiated a country-wide lockdown, the national government halted public transportation. BIC Shanti immediately reimagined their income-generating motorbike project, by switching from a passenger service to a delivery service, and providing a list of motorbike drivers’ contacts to the 384 households supported via their Population, Health, and Environment Program. The primary villages where BIC Shanti works, Budondo and Nsasi, are both very rural. Without access to public transport, the ability to have a motorbike driver collect basic necessities has been crucial.
• BIC Shanti has also included their ambulance service contacts in the same list, in case families need transport to their Suubi Health Center or other health facilities, because no private vehicles are currently allowed to do so.

A fleet of motorbikes at BIC Shanti, now an essential function in the provision of home delivery services.

Tejiendo Futuros, Panajachel, Guatemala

• While Tejiendo Futuros typically focuses on holistic education, they have adapted their resources to provide relief and resources to 27 families they work with and donated their school building as a community supply distribution center.
• Tejiendo Futuros staff are consistently checking in with families, giving them activity plans and resources for students to work on during the time away from school. They are also providing education on ways to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and the dangers of misinformation.
• Because many homes lack running water, Tejiendo Futuros has been working with the most vulnerable families by providing them with hand sanitizer and food, crucial in a community that has lost so much income without its thriving tourism industry.
• Tejiendo Futuros continues to be a support mechanism for women in the community who are in vulnerable domestic situations. Staff are in constant contact, making sure the women have someone to reach out to — and thanks to the important time they’ve spent building up trust, they’re ensured that women feel comfortable coming to them. Even more, Tejiendo Futuros is part of a wider community network of organizations supporting women during this time, ensuring the knowledge and resources are shared widely.

Staff at Tejiendo Futuros package family support baskets, including food, soap, and alcohol gel.

These are powerful examples of the resilience of our partner organizations. They are responding swiftly and strategically, and it makes all the difference in the ability of their communities to make it through this unprecedented time.

The thing is, the immediate threat of COVID-19 is far from over. The aftermath will be felt for a long time to come. It may be years even, before economies stabilize. Yet we believe that part of being resilient is being prepared. As our partners adapt to the coming changes, and as they adapt their budgets to provide for their communities in a brand new way, we will be here to support them through it, no matter how long it takes.

The Resilience Fund

MAMA HOPE has established a Resilience Fund designed to respond to the needs of our partners and their communities, both now and in the future. The fund has two objectives:

1. Emergency Response: We are funding our partners’ needs right now, supporting them as they adapt to the vital and changing needs of their communities as the pandemic takes its toll.

2. Long-term Healing: Funding will be made available for MAMA HOPE partners throughout the course of the pandemic, supporting long-term economic and social healing. When emergency funds come to an end, we are committed to ensuring that our community partners have the resources to recover financially, return to their regular programs, strengthen their impact, and build the resilience of their communities even further.

Our partners are adapting quickly to the challenges COVID-19 is presenting, and your support will make a huge difference in their continued efforts.

• $1,000 USD could provide basic grains for 200 people for one month.
• $500 USD could provide salaries for 2 to 5 essential workers, like teachers, health workers, and farmers, for one month.
• $250 USD could provide raw materials to supply hand soap to 200 households for one month.
• $100 USD could provide emergency food and essential items to vulnerable households in any one of MAMA HOPE’s partner communities, for one month.
• $50 USD could support a community-based health worker to conduct household visits throughout the community, or fund maternal care for two pregnant women.
• $20 USD could buy one month of data for one person, allowing community leaders to share critical public health information, keep students online, or maintain contact with vulnerable community members.

When you give to the Resilience Fund, you provide hope to the thousands of people that MAMA HOPE partner organizations support. You are contributing to a more resilient and compassionate world.

Resilience. It’s better when we’re in it together. Give today!