Covid Relief Helps Vulnerable Communities
The global pandemic of COVID-19 is affecting everyone, but as with any disaster, the most vulnerable are most affected. We have been working hard with our staff on the ground to ensure the families and communities we work with have the resources they need to survive this unprecedented disaster.
To date Chalice US and Chalice Canada have distributed nearly $458,000 USD to 44 sites in 14 countries, helping thousands of needy families. Using general disaster funds, catalog funding, and donations to our COVID disaster fund (totaling $298,000 USD to date), extra family funds, food baskets, and essential items have been directed to those in most need.
Our sites in Haiti were hit very hard by COVID as they have also been suffering from violent protests, resulting in food and fuel shortages. "We are going through very difficult times but we stay confident that the world will get through this with the faith in God," writes our Haiti North site. "Thank you for thinking of the poor and unfortunate people all over the world due to this pandemic and thank you very much for thinking of our sponsored families in these difficult moments by providing additional support."
In Baraka, Kenya staff delivered 200 food baskets to needy families. The site explained, "The families we support are already needy and the COVID-19 pandemic is an additional obstacle to people who are already struggling to feed their families." Villagers were grateful they were blessed with a good harvest this year, which helped their food stores immensely. The site also delivered food, medications, and supplements to people who are sick and in need of additional nutritional support.
As with other countries, as soon as COVID was detected in Paraguay, the government implemented a strict quarantine to slow the spread, which caused massive unemployment and instability. In response to this crisis, our CMAVIL sponsor site assembled and delivered 663 food kits to 519 sponsored families and 144 non-sponsored families to see people through the worst of the quarantine.
Our Nellore site in India is also helping the most vulnerable in their community with our Sisters providing breakfast for community members with disabilities. Many of these individuals struggle financially on the best of days and have been hit especially hard by the economic effects of the pandemic.
As devastating as this pandemic has been on all of us, every day our hearts are lifted as we hear stories of how people are working together and doing everything they can to help others.
One example of this is at our Pochaiv site in Ukraine, where parents of sponsored children are using their sewing skills (learned from life skills classes at our site) and sewing machines provided through donors of our gift catalog, to sew gauze face masks for health care workers. "Today, these sewing machines are invaluable," says Halyna, our site director. Thank you, dear donors!"
As we continue to navigate through this difficult time, we send out much gratitude to you, our dear donors. Without your continued support, we would not be able to help the most needy in our world. Please click on the following link to learn more or to contribute to our COVID-19 Disaster Relief Fund.