CJI is responding to the needs of our partners and the communities they serve who have been hit hardest by COVID-19: marginalized communities, migrants, Indigenous people, the sick and the elderly. We understand the best way to support their COVID-19 response and ongoing work is recognizing the need for flexibility. We remain committed to existing programs while acknowledging many projects need to adapt to changing conditions; some activities must be put on hold.
In South Sudan, Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) is still dealing with Ebola at the refugee camp in Yambio but made responding to COVID-19 a priority. They provide food and educational materials to school aged children, despite schools being closed. JRS has also distributed recreational materials to help children cope and has installed handwashing facilities to prepare schools for safe reopening.
In March, migrant workers in India were left unemployed and homeless due to the lockdown. Millions were forced to walk hundredsof kilometres to reach their home provinces. CJI responded by providing immediate financial support to our Jesuit partners to provide food and basic hygiene items to migrant workers.
In Brazil, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Venezuela and Liberia, our partners provide food baskets and hygiene kits and promote proper hygiene as part of their efforts to support marginalized communities and to stop the spread of COVID-19. A COMPARTE seminar, for people from across Latin America, was cancelled. The participants have instead met online to continue learning from each other.
The August 4 explosion in Lebanon has made access to food and essential items, proper hygiene and shelter more critical. The Jesuits and JRS teams have scaled up their ongoing COVID-19 relief operations to address both crises.
Thank you for making our partners’ work possible. Please continue to support our COVID-19 Emergency Appeal by visiting: canadianjesuitsinternational.ca/grief-hope-and-solidarity/
