Corona crisis: Current information on the situation in the projects

+++ Status: August 20th 2020 +++

The worldwide distribution of Covid-19 continues and in many of our project countries the number of cases is increasing rapidly. However, due to very limited testing capacities, this is not fully documented and the exact numbers often remain unknown. In addition to the health risks of the Covid-19 disease, measures to contain the spread of the disease have serious economic and health implications for people in developing countries. It is already evident today that the most vulnerable people in the poorest parts of the world are suffering and will suffer most from these consequences.

We are in regular contact with our project coordinators and partner organisations on the ground. Below we would like to provide you with current information on the situation in our projects. You will find the projects under the different regions Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America and can read the respective updates there. The information is updated constantly.

Please note that in this overview we focus on updates that are particularly worth mentioning in the crisis. If you have questions about a specific project or cannot find current information about it, please contact us by mail.

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Africa

Benin, Djougou: Djougou: The students and trainees of the project Vocational Training and Education for Strong Women had to leave the project’s own hostel and returned to their families. Girls who either have no family or cannot return there for other reasons have found accommodation in the house of Dhyne, the local project manager.
Gambia, Ballingho: In our project Career Prospects for Returnees the training of 40 young people had to be interrupted. However, since food is produced on-site as part of the training, the production operation may continue. Three young people have returned to their home villages. The others have chosen a temporary employment contract and are now helping to supply the region with fruit and vegetables.
Kenya, Mombasa: In Kenya, as well, all schools and training centres are currently closed. Our tailoring class of the project Holistic Education for Children has meanwhile sewn several thousand protective masks and sold them to hotels and other shops. Many of the masks have also been distributed to poorer people. In addition food packages are distributed to the population through the project.
Togo, Lomé: As part of our project Providing Prospects through Bilingual Education in Lomé, the trainees have developed several innovative ideas in response to the Corona crisis. For example, 8 apprentices, who are trained as stylists or seamstresses, have started with the production of face masks. Although the training centres are closed due to Corona, they were able to take their sewing machines home and start production. The reusable face masks are made of 100% cotton. At the same time, another group is engaged in the compilation of hygiene sets. The sets consist of a face mask, a soap, a pack of paper tissues and a small hygiene guide. In addition, several trainees have started an awareness campaign to inform students about Covid-19 and have already carried it out in several schools.
South Africa, Johannesburg: Luckily the young adults of the project A Loving Home for Orphans were able to go back to work a few weeks ago. However on of the young women lost her job due to the economic situation in South Africa.
South Africa, Cape Town: After weeks of school closures, construction work in the project Future through Education for Township Children restarted on May 25th. As many construction workers live in the township and are now finally earning money again, this also helps to ease the situation in the township. After an opening time for around 3 weeks the schools in Cape Town were closed again due to the increasing numbers of infections.

Asia

India: In India all schools are currently closed and a nationwide lockdown has been imposed. The observance of the lockdown is massively controlled by the police and if necessary also implemented with physical violence.
India, Dehradun: In Dehradun the children in the dormitories of our project partner Aasraa Trust for the project Education Creates Opportunities for Street Children received online language lessons from Lufthansa Group volunteers. The teachers received online language and IT lessons from the volunteers. Furthermore, around 6.500 families are provided with food packages. The project now started to lend smartphones and tablets to children living with their families to give them the opportunity to participate in online learning activities.
India, New Delhi: In Delhi, the children of the project Learning for Sunny Prospects for Slum Children are provided with food by Kuku, the project founder. For the daily distribution of food, the police officer stationed in the street exceptionally permits the children to walk to the project. Older youths help with the distribution of food. In addition, free drinking water is distributed to the children at all kiosks in the district. The kiosk operators are reimbursed for the water costs by the project.
India, Gurugram: Also in Gurguram, Devender, the founder of the project A Better Future for Sporty Children, is currently busy every day providing the children with food and staying in contact with them to ensure their well-being.
Lebanon, Beqaa-Valley: Our partner organization Zeltschule e.V. was able to open a new school – the Octopus School – with a special permit! This is the 14th tent school in the Beqaa-Valley! The manager of the Zeltschule e.V. Jacqueline Flory flew to Lebanon on 23.08.2020 with a total of 411 kg of relief supplies. The relief supplies included 6900 masks, over 1000 diapers, face shields, feminine hygiene products and of course the school materials for the new Octopus tent school. With the support of the help alliance community in Munich and the LHG colleagues at the station, all relief supplies could be transported to their destination free of charge! help alliance has been supporting the project Tent School for Refugees since 2019.
Nepal: Our partner organisation EcoHimal for our two projects in Nepal (The Future Lies in Spices and Gender-friendly Schools) carries out the following relief and prevention measures in several districts: 1) Information campaigns about the virus and the necessary hygiene measures, 2) distribution of hygiene articles and disinfectants, 3) support for water supply in several villages, 4) distribution of seeds to local farmers.
Thailand, Pattaya: The schools have been reopened in Thailand. Finally after the lockdown the children from the project Protection against Exploitation and Child Trafficking for Street Children are able to return to school. During the lockdown the young people kept busy sewing protective masks to distribute them among the poor population. The masks were distributed by the project staff.
Sri Lanka, Tangalle: Due to the Covid-19 situation, the pre-school supported by help alliance within the project Early Childhood Education for 220 Children is still closed. The teachers of the school developed different workbooks for the children and distributed them to the parents. The children can use them to do their homework at home and the parents can help them with it. The workbooks have been developed according to the school’s teaching modules and the costs are covered by the project. In addition, each class teacher has created a WhatsApp group (with the parents) for their class to share arts and crafts activities with the children. The children must follow the given instructions and once they complete the activity, they should send it back to the teacher as a picture.

Europe

Germany, Düsseldorf: As part of our project Educational Support for Students together with the organization Chancenwerk, the measure cosinus@home was developed. From now on, all children will receive home exercise books in mathematics, German and English that promote basic skills. In this way, they can continue to work on their learning deficits. In addition, the project managers are also piloting the shift of the intensive courses to an online solution so that they can accompany children and young people on their individual learning paths. In Düsseldorf, the organization has already succeeded in offering a weekly math course in a video conference at the Dieter Forte Comprehensive School.
Germany, Hamburg: Our partner organisation “Hanseatic Help” for our project Pilots for a Strong Future has launched an online platform https://www.gemeinsamesache.org as a reaction to the Corona crisis to enable networking between volunteers and people in need. Since many affected people cannot always be reached online, a bridge is to be built from the digital to the analogue world. For this purpose they established the Hanseatic Help Call-Center (Hanseatic Helpline), which is supported by volunteers from the home office.
Germany, Frankfurt: Our partner organisation “Über den Tellerrand Frankfurt” now carries out several activities digitally. For example, meetings within the Job Buddy and Volunteer Rockets programs of our project Intercultural Tandems for Career Perspectives and Leisure Ideas are held with Job Buddies as zoom meetings. In the meantime the groups can meet again. On 26.08.2020 a new round of the Career Buddy Program has started with 15 tandems, among them 4 mentors from the Lufthansa Group.
Germany, Hattersheim: In the project How a Café Helps with Integration, all measures were suspended or implemented on a reduced scale from April onwards. Starting at the end of April, homework supervision was provided by a lending library and with the support of homeschooling via video chat. Additionally, videos with sports exercises and handicraft instructions were made available online. The German course and the language cafe could also be conducted only through video chats, emails and various interactive offers. Since June, all measures can again be implemented personally under consideration of the hygiene regulations.
Germany, Flörsheim: Within the project Language Practice for Children with Migration Background, activities could restart with a reduced number of pupils, taking into account the hygiene regulations. As a compensation, the project is offering lessons during the vacations this year in order to address as many deficits of the pupils as possible.

Latin America

Brazil, São Laurenço: In order to support the residents of the neighbourhood who are stuck in home quarantine and to ensure their supply, volunteers from the project A Better Future for Sporty Children distributed 100 food packages to the poorest families. In addition, the project has launched an initiative to help the population, who often do not have access to the Internet, to apply for the government support package, which can only be applied for online.One of the largest TV stations in Brazil has even broadcasted about this initiative. The report (with subtitles) can be found on the help alliance Youtube channel.
Mexico, Chignahuapan: TThe corona situation in Mexico has also worsened. For our project A New Life for Girls with Experience of Violence this meant that the families, out of concern, expressed the wish that the girls should return home to them. The knowledge that Covid-19 patients cannot be cared for in the local hospital, but often have to be brought to the capital, which is about two hours away, led to the decision to bring the girls, who could not return to their families, to the project premises in Mexico City. The girls who have returned to their families are supported with food deliveries.