Supporting Communities Through The Pandemic

The impact of coronavirus has had a devastating effect on the slum dwelling,
refugee and internally displaced communities we support around the world.

Through over 30 years of working with some of the most marginalised
groups, we know they are always the hardest hit in times such as these.

WHAT HAVE WE BEEN DOING TO SUPPORT COMMUNITIES THROUGH THE PANDEMIC?

LEARNING THROUGH LOCKDOWN

Every child we support has been cut off from education and vital services whilst facing a rise of abuse and exploitation.

Together with our partners we have found creative ways to ensure the 16, 000 children we support have had access to education whilst schools have been closed and to ensure they are safe while they are cut off from regular protection services.

This took the form of radio lessons, phone lessons, lessons under trees, in tents, in teachers homes and in student’s homes along with doorstep visits and check in phone calls from teachers.

Group of young Congolese children sat on a mat outside with a teacher and homemade learning materials. He is explaining counting to them with some sticks.

Group learning for Congolese refugee children in Kyaka II settlement, Uganda.

Butoto and her son Ndahaye sat outside their house in Kyaka II refugee settlement listening to a solar powered radio. Bututo is a Congolese woman dressed in a blue skirt, white shirt and a blue headscarf. Ndahaye is a child aged around 5 who is sat down on the floor next to his mother holding the radio.

BUTOTO is a resident of Kyaka II camp in Uganda. Her son, Ndahaye is a pupil at one of our ECD Centres.

Ndahaye has been listening to radio lessons at home with his mum thanks to a solar powered radio given to her by Children on the Edge.

Before they had the radio, Ndahaye would go out to listen to the radio lessons at other people’s homes. She wished she could afford one herself so he could listen from home and learn with her support.

She said: "I feel like my children have not lost anything during Covid because we have been listening to the radio programmes on a daily basis".

EMERGENCY RELIEF WORK

Families have been forced out of work and struggled to source enough food to survive.

To support the communities we work with, we have been providing emergency food parcels to the most vulnerable families in Uganda, Lebanon, Bangladesh and India, delivering over 12,500 food parcels in 2020.

A group of Indian men and women gathered outside a distribution truck to collect emergency food parcels in Bihar state, India.

Emergency food parcels being distributed in India - May 2021

18 year old man holding a certificate, with the caption 'Meet Mounzir'.

SHAMILA PRAVIN and her husband live in Digha, India and they have three children. Her husband worked as an electrician and she earned a living as a domestic helper.

During the second wave of Covid-19 in 2021, her husband contracted the virus and was seriously ill at home. The family had to quarantine for nearly 3 months.

They spent all their savings and were on the brink of starvation when Shamila approached her Women's Group (facilitated by our partners, NESWS) and asked for support.

She was given a Survival Kit and her family say that they are grateful for the timely support they received.

CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE - COUNTRY OVERVIEW

BANGLADESH

3,000 food parcels delivered to households in urgent need of emergency food support in Cox's Bazar.
10,000 flyers given out to inform slum communities about Covid
a series of videos produced to help people understand the virus and prevent its' spread.
During 18 months of school closures, home and community based classes were conducted each day in all three areas where we work in Bangladesh.
Smaller, socially distanced classes ensured that each child had interaction with a teacher every week, to check on their safety and well being.
From September 2021 all our schools re-opened in a Covid-safe way as soon as permission was granted by the Bangladesh government.
Children were met with flowers, chocolates, bunting and balloons to celebrate their return to school.

Big group of Syrian refugee students aged between 7-11 smiling and laughing and holding up certificates.

Students temperatures are checked as they were welcomed back to school

INDIA

Students took part in small group classes during lockdown

10, 770 emergency food parcels and survival kits distributed to to around 8,000 of the most vulnerable.
500 healthcare workers given essential PPE safety kits.
Mobile mentoring services helped to counsel and support Covid-affected Dalit families, and connect them with vital health, food and transport services.
Learning Centres remained mostly closed until August 2021, but lessons were sent via Whatsapp to teacher’s phones, which were taught in small, socially distanced groups.
During the strictest lockdown periods our partners delivered textbooks and other learning materials to the homes of all the children so they could keep up their studies.
Teachers were trained to mentor families through the crisis, particularly around COVID-19 awareness, hygiene and health, good parenting and the prevention of domestic and child abuse.

LEBANON

In 2020 our partners distributed food and hygiene parcels to hundreds of vulnerable families around Beirut.
For the first month of lockdown, the school we support in Zahle was closed and deep cleaned.
Homework was set regularly for all the children and refugee teachers continued to be paid so they can support their families through lockdown.
Our partners were also able to deliver training to refugee communities on social distancing and the preventing the spread of the virus.
As the country has been in and out of lockdown we have opened the school as and when it has been safe to do so.
For the periods where classes cannot gather, children have been engaging in a home learning programme.
Schools are currently re-opened and running as best as they can despite the power and fuel problems.

Food and hygiene parcels being packed in Lebanon

MYANMAR

Young Kachin boy wearing a red jumper is sat in his classroom doing some colouring. He is wearing a blue facemask.

Covid-safe mesaures were put in place while the centres were open

All the 14 Early Childhood Development Centres we support have been closed and re-opened periodically as restrictions have tightened and lifted throughout the pandemic.
Through lockdown the teachers were educating parents and children about the virus, and our partners implemented a hand-washing campaign along with the installation of new hand-washing stations and individual cups and cutlery.
270 individual ‘playing and learning kits’ distributed at the centres with the largest number of pupils to reduce the risk of the virus spreading via shared toys and equipment.
Teachers created a wide scale home learning plan for and supported parents to encourage their children's progress.
Parenting programmes also ensured a safe environment for children through lockdown.
Centres are currently closed as a result of the pandemic and the ongoing political crisis and conflict.

UGANDA

Working with the government, staff delivered fortnightly supply parcels of maize flour, beans and soap to 100 of the most vulnerable households in five slum areas.
Our Early Childhood Development Centres in Jinja remain closed, so teachers are using mobile phones, delivering home learning packs and conducting regular home visits to support children.
To combat a rise in child abuse and ensure safe environments for children throughout lockdown, our social worker conducted one-on-one home visits.
All team members were given extra phone credit in order to keep in touch with families.
Child Protection Teams had additional workshops on domestic and sexual and gender based violence, as well as counselling, in order to counter the rise in these problem areas.
Child Rights Clubs working hard to build awareness in their communities and help prevent the spread of the virus.
Our small business loan scheme has helped to keep households afloat through lockdown.