Ranked as the 2nd poorest country economically in the world with a population of 30 million, Mozambique only has 3 doctors to every 100,000 people, 2,000 testing kits available in the capital and the entire country has just 34 ventilators. The novel coronavirus COVID-19 Virus poses an extremely high risk to the poor in our communities. Hundreds of families who relied on our town of tourism have lost their income and do not have savings. Many cannot afford hygiene products, don’t often have running water, and live within large households. As many live day to day, the idea of self quarantine or social distancing for a longer period of time is just not realistic. The spread of the virus in Mozambique will increase rapidly. Our province is incredibly vulnerable to the novel coronavirus pandemic and we as a community need to continue to take measures to reduce the spread of the virus and help care for those who get it. There is a significant proportion of the population who live with chronic, underlying conditions, such as diabetes and respiratory illness, and these people are likely to be at higher risk of severe symptoms, complications, and death if infected by the coronavirus—especially if their underlying illness is not well-managed through regular medical care. Many Mozambicans are already faced with Malaria, Tuberculosis, HIV, Malnutrition and compromised immune systems. We are working to assist the most vulnerable and provide them with education, support and care.
-Provide food and care packages for hundreds of families who have no income and have been directly effected by COVID-19. $55 will provide 3 weeks of food and hygiene products for a family.
-Provide education to the community to stop the spread of the virus and to teach people how to protect themselves and their families.
-Build handwashing and sanitation stations in communities where households do not have access to running water.
Below is more detail about how we will achieve these goals.
The Appeal
We know this is a global issue and many all over the world are suffering as COVID-19 continues to spread. But with your compassion and generosity, we will be able to continue to come alongside one of the poorest communities, and provide life giving support to those who are in desperate need of help. Please consider donating at any amount!
The How
We are a group of committed individuals who are working on behalf of the Mozambican community to support, protect and educate those who need it most. We are achieving this through two areas: Disaster Risk Reduction (Education, Community & Lobbying) and Disaster Risk Management (Resources & Supplies).
Disaster Risk Reduction
The Education Team has provided information to all the communities who do not have access to it. They have created image posters for those who cannot read words, translated advice materials into Guitonga (the local language) for those who do not speak Portuguese. The Education Team have also delivered presentations at schools and churches in the weeks before Mozambique had any COVID-19 cases confirmed. They continue to share resources and information on a daily basis.
The Community Team have set up "Friend Pods" where the entire community of 11,688 people have been put into groups based on geographical location. These friendship pods allow us to account for everyone living in the community and learn of any vulnerable or at-risk individuals. These also provide a support structure for individuals who need immediate support and can receive it from their neighbours. The Community Team have also begun the process of identifying families whose sole earner is self-employed as either a casual labourer, manual labourer, fisherman etc. These families have suffered by a complete loss of income overnight as the country and town has gone into self isolation. These families need urgent help to feed their families and to be able to stay at home to stop the potential spread of the virus.
The Lobbying Team is working with the Government to ask for their support in ensuring the community follow the protocols set by the Government with regards to safeguarding, quarantine, self isolation and social distancing.
Disaster Risk Management
The Resources Team are working with volunteers in the community to build handwashing stations (Tippy Taps) for local and rural communities where there is no running water.
The Supplies Team have formed a partnership with the local supermarket who will supply food and care items at virtually cost price for us. These items will be used to build Food and Care Packages for families who have no income. This is where the vast majority of any funding we receive will be spent. The Supplies Team are also creating a plan to support the Mozambican fruit, vegetable and fish traders that will enable them to continue to provide the community with fresh food over the coming weeks and months so that they are able to support themselves in a safe and secure way.
Financial Management
All expenditure will be fully documented with receipts to provide full transparency for those who have generously donated to our appeal.
Find the income and expenditure account here
