With international borders still closed, and far fewer tourists visiting places like Bali, we spoke to our partners in Indonesia to find out what life is like in the grip of the pandemic.
“People here are more worried about having no food and no jobs than about the pandemic,” says our Southeast Asia Regional Coordinator, Dr Debora Murthy.
“While that’s understandable, cases in Indonesia are still growing – there are more than 3,000 cases in Bali alone, with almost 100,000 across Indonesia. The threat is very real and we’re doing everything we can to share information about stopping the spread, especially among people who rely on traditional markets, where community transmission is highest.”
Our partners the Protestant Christian Church in Bali and their development agency MBM have been working hard to respond to food insecurity as well as safeguard against disease.
Here is what your gifts have been achieving in their capable hands:
- Food assistance for 8,062 vulnerable women, children and especially those living with HIV/AIDS
- COVID-19 prevention education for 2,237 families via brochures and social media
- 1,000 fruit and vegetable plants helped 31 communities supplement their dwindling food supplies
- Packages of masks, soap and vitamins to protect against disease for 806 families
- Hand washing videos sent directly to
- 61 children in targeted communities
- Quarantine support and care for 20 health workers serving COVID-19 patients in a local hospital
- Sewing training for 12 women to make fabric masks; 3,890 purchased by MBM
- to distribute
- Training for ten Bali church leaders so they can become COVID-19 volunteers in their communities
- Marketing support for six villages so they don’t have to physically travel to produce an income.
THANK YOU
to everyone who has helped men, women and children stay safe and avoid hunger in Indonesia, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka and across the Pacific. You’re amazing!