To protect vulnerable populations that we support on a daily basis, our teams are doing everything to provide an emergency response to the Coronavirus crisis. Follow the development of our activities in response to the COVID-19 crisis every week. Here is the update on our various interventions as of 4 April 2020.
Wherever possible, Aide et Action mobilises all its human and material resources to develop its projects in favour of the most vulnerable populations. Educating communities on prevention measures and providing them with basic support is our priority. Follow, region by region, the impact of the current pandemic on our activities:
SOUTH ASIA:
Our projects in this region mainly concern vulnerable and marginalised populations (including internal migrants) and socio-professional training for young people. In India, to best support our beneficiaries, we are focusing our efforts on the following areas:
– Vulnerable and marginalized populations: collection of masks and creation of an information database gathering the key people to contact in case of need for young girls with HIV-AIDS with whom we work; monitoring the care of children of precarious workers by elders from their community in order to guarantee their safety; food support for 125 families of sex workers.
– Internal migration: awareness of migrant families of hygienic gestures, respect for social distancing and recognition of symptoms of the disease; dialogue with the owners of brick factories where the migrants used to work, which helped convince them to provide them with shelter and a daily ration of food; advocacy work with the Indian authorities which encouraged them to include these families in their national support program; establishment of a network of virtual community volunteers made up of 225 volunteers in 175 villages to monitor the health of repatriated migrants and support the government in setting up quarantine facilities; distribution of food rations provided by the government and other organizations.
– Socio-professional training: digitization of our socio-professional training program “iLEAD”; creation of digital discussion groups to share interactive assignments online; monitoring the situation of students during the crisis; providing remote support to former students who are in dispute with their employers in order to obtain their full salary and sharing contacts with emergency services.
SOUTHEAST ASIA:
This region was first affected by the Coronavirus crisis
In Cambodia:
Various activities have been developed to meet current challenges. Thanks to the transformation of tuk-tuks (motorised tricycles) – hitherto used as mobile libraries for our educational projects – into itinerant sanitary stations, a major education and awareness campaign on hygiene is currently being carried out in 200 remote villages. In addition, handwashing stations are installed and kits containing soap and books are distributed to families. Our teams are also in the process of sourcing rice to provide food support for schoolchildren and their families. Finally, thanks to a mobile application already implemented by Aide et Action, online learning is being developed. This one, intended primarily for children with disabilities, has already been tested in around twenty classes.
In Vietnam:
The situation is more complicated due to government restrictions. However, our teams are currently distributing soap and disinfectant in certain municipalities in association with a local partner. A reflection is being carried out by Aide et Action, the Ministry of Education and teachers to see how to support distance learning despite the problem that arises in our target areas where the Internet is unstable and often unavailable.
In Laos:
Our teams have submitted two new learning applications to the Ministry of Education (MoE). They are currently awaiting approval.
AFRICA:
Most of our activities are suspended due to health regulations.
In Guinea:
Working on a proposal from the Orange Foundation, our team is studying the possibility of setting up a targeted project. This would include two actions: the organization of distance courses with the use of digital tablets for primary school pupils and the distribution of hygiene kits for families, for health structures and, possibly, for schools if classes are resumed.
In Senegal:
Aide et Action is developing a draft note to participate in the implementation of the “Learning at Home” strategy implemented by the Ministry of National Education.
In addition, to help African countries cope with the pandemic, our director general, Charles-Emmanuel Ballanger, has written a column, in partnership with Solidarités Laïques, where he calls on the President of the Republic not to forget Africa in this crisis. To that end, he urges the government to give humanitarian teams the means to continue their prevention, education and training work in the field, by launching without delay “a strong, historic, international and united initiative”.
EUROPE:
In France, as in Romania, our support projects for vulnerable populations living in precarious housing are strongly impacted by the crisis. Although no specific activity has been developed by Aide et Action in this context, our local partners are closely monitoring the development of the already worrying health and social situation. Together, we call on national authorities not to forget these precarious communities that are more excluded than ever because of the Coronavirus.