The COVID-19 crisis has presented monumental challenges to communities across the world. For some of us, these challenges include working from home while juggling child care, caring for sick relatives, and coping with social isolation. 

For others, like Rohingya refugees living in camps in Bangladesh, surviving a pandemic presents even greater challenges.  Since social distancing is nearly impossible, respiratory illness is common, and day-wages are most individuals’ only source of income, overcoming the pandemic will require an enormous show of solidarity from the international community. Hundreds of individuals have been stranded in boats at sea for two months, as Malaysia and Bangladesh closed their ports to the migrants seeking to escape the difficult conditions. 

Populations already hard-hit by recent natural disasters or in the midst of ongoing humanitarian crises are disproportionately impacted by the virus. That’s why GlobalGiving launched a round of emergency grants from your generous donations to the Rohingya Refugee Relief Fund. These flexible grants reinforced local nonprofits’ ability to act quickly in delivering personal protective equipment (PPE), essential medical supplies, and food to the most vulnerable. 

Here’s a snapshot of how your contribution is keeping refugees safe while far from home:

Mending the gap in food aid

• OBAT Helpers: As the local economy remains shut down, the daily wages Rohingya refugees earn through jobs outside of the camp have dried up. Since workers can no longer depend on these low earnings to feed their families, organizations like OBAT Helpers have delivered food packages to over 1,600 families in an effort to mend the gap. 

Spreading hope through tiny miracles

• HOPE Foundation for Women and Children of Bangladesh: HOPE Foundation’s expertly-trained midwives are working around the clock to ensure the health of mothers and newborn babies in Cox’s Bazar, while also distributing PPE and masks to the wider community. Previous grants to this organization have contributed to the construction of a field hospital, which is now being activated to effectively treat residents who test positive for the coronavirus.

Sharing life-saving information

• Internews: Access to accurate, timely, and life-saving information is half of the battle in the fight against COVID-19. Faced with unreliable internet and cell service availability, Rohingya refugees are often at a disadvantage when it comes to staying informed. With the emergency grant, Internews is strengthening its efforts to deliver current news in the local language to thousands of refugees, through both radio and educational entertainment programs. 

These rapid-response grants reflect just one component of GlobalGiving’s overall response to COVID-19. Our community of donors has supported local relief efforts in more than 30 countries through our Coronavirus Relief Fund, and we have also activated a Hardship Microgrants Program to help nonprofits across the world keep the lights on during a time of great uncertainty. 

We are keeping you and the entire community of GlobalGivers in our thoughts these days, as you stay safe and keep the hope alive with your generosity. As always, thank you for contributing to a local, human-centered response to the Rohingya displacement crisis. 

In solidarity,

Andrea + the GlobalGiving Team 

Dear Project of the Month Club Member,

We hope you had a healthy and safe month of May. We are incredibly grateful for the generosity of you and the 585 other club members that came together to give $25,095 last month to Infinite Family and its project, Mentoring African Teens to School and Life Success, that is helping Black South African teens develop self-reliance and resourcefulness in as they prepare for their lives as young adults and beyond.

This June, your Project of the Month Club donation will support our nonprofit partner Soccer Without Borders' and its project Playing (Soccer) for Change in Nicaragua. 

Soccer Without Borders' mission is to use soccer as a vehicle for positive change and provide underserved youth a toolkit to overcome obstacles to growth, inclusion, and personal success. The Playing (Soccer) for Change in Nicaragua project gives girls living in Granada, Nicaragua the social, educational, and economic support they need to overcome obstacles to success and achieve their personal goals. Through the activities, girls earn participation points that are exchanged for school supplies and uniforms as well as school scholarships.

Senior Manager of International Programs Jenn Bell expresses her thanks to you and other Project of the Month Club members for supporting their mission:

“We are honored and thrilled to be selected for the Project of the Month Club and join this outstanding group of organizations and change-makers! Thank you to all of the Project of the Month Club members for supporting the work to build inclusive communities through soccer. With your support, we will continue to advocate for gender equity in Nicaragua, both on and off the pitch.”

Jenn went on to share plans for how your generosity will power their efforts this year:

“The news of our selection comes at a critical time for our project in Nicaragua. Since Nicaragua's political crisis escalated in 2018, in combination with the impact of COVID-19, our project has not been able to host several annual events that typically fund our year-round work. The support from the Project of the Month Club will fill that gap and go directly towards our year-round programs which offer daily soccer, educational, and community-building programs to more than 450 girls in Granada and an additional 1,200 youth through events, camps, and leagues across Nicaragua. With these funds our team of mentor-coaches will be able to continue to cultivate safe spaces for women and girls, ensuring that each member of the SWB community feels connected and cared for during these challenging times.”

Learn more about Soccer Without Borders’ work by reading their recent updates from the field.

Thank you again for your continued generosity. I look forward to sharing July’s Project of the Month with you soon.

Stay safe and well, 

Alix Guerrier

GlobalGiving CEO

Though it seems like a lifetime ago for so many of us, the devastation of the bushfires across Australia at the beginning of the year remains a sad reality for impacted communities and the natural environment. Many families and communities are still waiting for assistance. While the ongoing COVID-19 crisis is not only upending our own lives and the lives of our loved ones, it is also disproportionately hurting the most vulnerable among us and those already struggling to recover from previous disaster events, like the bushfires.

GlobalGiving is working around the clock during the COVID-19 crisis to best serve our nonprofit community that is spread across 170 countries. We have launched a Coronavirus Relief Fund, piloted a Hardship Microgrant Initiative, and doubled down on trusting our partners to know what is best for their communities during this emergency.

At the same time, GlobalGiving remains committed to serving our nonprofit partners on the front lines of continued bushfire recovery work in Australia. Within the last few months, we have made more grants from our Australia Wildfires Relief Fund to Australian organizations that are providing direct support to impacted communities. I want to share how five of our partners are doubling down on their critical work in the midst of the pandemic thanks to your donation.

• Australian Community Philanthropy (ACP) is the peak organization that serves the nearly 40 community foundations across Australia. These local community foundations are best placed to understand the key needs of bushfire-impacted communities, and many are actively on the frontlines of bushfire recovery. ACP is working closely with its members to provide resources, one-on-one support, and coordination to effectively drive a unified response in partnership with local communities.
• Community Foundation For Tumut Region has been serving local communities since 2004 and is now providing direct support to bushfire-impacted families through the provision of pre-paid gift cards from local businesses. In this way, the organization is seeking to not only give aid directly to families in need, but also to support the local business sector. 
• Alternative Technology Association (Renew) recognizes the global climate emergency that played a major role in the Australia bushfires crisis. The organization is working directly with homeowners and other community members to build back homes in a green and sustainable manner. Its current work is informed by its extensive experience serving fire-impacted communities after the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires in the state of Victoria.
• Catholic Social Services Australia is responding across the nation in many of the communities that it has long served in its more than 40-year history. In partnership with impacted communities, the organization is deploying local Community Recovery Workers that are committed to long-term recovery through the provision of counseling, social asset mapping, coordination and referral services, and other community engagement projects.
• St. Vincent de Paul Society NSW is playing a major role in St. Vincent de Paul Society’s overarching national response to bushfire recovery in Australia. In NSW, one of the hardest-hit states, the organization is activating a holistic response that includes basic relief services (food, clothes, and temporary shelter), assistance with children (school fees and transportation), economic assistance, and psychosocial support.

As always, you can also check in on the progress of our other partners, especially those working on wildlife rescue and rehabilitation. In the months ahead, GlobalGiving will continue to support our Australian nonprofit partners and, at the same time, will be building new partnerships with grassroots organizations that are serving neglected needs across the country.

All of this vital work has been made possible by your donation. Thank you for your incredible generosity. Joining together with more than 23,000 other people, your choice to support community-led recovery efforts in Australia makes all the difference during this difficult time.

Stay safe and well.

With gratitude,

Chase + the GlobalGiving team