COVID-19 Hygiene Kits for 3000 individuals

Dear donors and supporters,

The past year has been very difficult for people all around the world especially due to the COVID-19 pandemic which almost paralyzed the globe. However, in Lebanon, this year has been very challenging mainly due to the deteriorating economic conditions, the COVID-19 outbreak, the Beirut Port explosion, the forest fires, and the extremely difficult political situation which affected almost everyone in Lebanon and resulted in an unprecedented increase in poverty rates.

Thanks to your generous donations and GlobalGiving's huge support through grants to help the needy in Lebanon regardless of their age, gender, religion, or nationality, we managed to make a great impact in our communities, where we provided 5,725 beneficiaries with COVID-19 related services including:

1. Hygiene Kits
2. Refugee Camp and Neighborhood Sterilization
3. COVID-19 awareness sessions

1. Hygiene Kits:

Thanks to your support, we managed to distribute 750 hygiene kits in several impoverished Lebanese neighborhoods, Syrian refugee camps, and Palestinian refugee camps across Lebanon which benefited 3375 underserved individuals.

The hygiene kits included cleaning products and personal hygiene items like soaps, sanitizers, face masks, tissue papers, cleaning detergents for use by both children and their caregivers. The kits were offered to 200 underserved Lebanese families, 150 Palestinian refugee families, and 400 Syrian refugee families.

2. Sterilizations:

As part of our sterilization campaign, URDA teams roamed several areas, mainly Syrian refugee camps to disinfect any possible hazard. 4 refugee camps and 2 Lebanese neighborhoods were sterilized making the total number of beneficiary families 500.

3. Awareness Sessions:

Our teams focused on conducting awareness sessions to raise awareness about COVID-19, what is it, what are the symptoms, how can we prevent contracting it, the proper use of masks and other items in the hygiene, the importance of maintaining a safe distance with others, COVID-19 myth busters, household sterilization, what to do if we feel sick, and other necessary information. Two types of awareness sessions were designed, one for children and another for their caregivers and other key people including barbers, hairdressers, shop owners, schools, and municipalities employees.

Thank you again for your support which has helped thousands of individuals in Lebanon. Our project has not closed yet, and we invite you to share it with others who would like to help the underserved in Lebanon.

Links:

• Hygiene Kit Distribution Video
• COVID-19 Awareness Tour

With the generous donations received from our supporters through GlobalGiving, URDA implemented COVID-19 Awareness Sessions and distributed hygiene kits to 440 beneficiaries residing in Al Yasmine refugee camp and Bar Elias (Lebanese neighborhood) as part of the COVID-19 Response plan. Those beneficiaries are added to thousands of other beneficiaries who received hygiene kits and awareness sessions with the funding of other partnering organizations.

The Protection Sector at URDA across Lebanon, after attending several training sessions with the Red Cross and Other reference organizations on the Novel COVID-19 outbreak, will be implementing COVID-19 Awareness Sessions for vulnerable communities while following World Health Organization’s recommendations on the rational use of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) for the implementing teams.

While following WHO's recommendations on the rational use of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) for the implementing teams, all teams were required to:

• Wear a face mask when standing close of the beneficiaries and no need to wearing a face mask if at distance is 2m or more.
• Wear gloves at all times while sterilizing hands before wearing the gloves and when taking them off
• Refrain from touching face, nose, mouth, and eyes
• Maintain social distancing and ensure the distance between attendees during the session
• A maximum of 10 participants in each session (so every 3 sessions technically constitute one full-attendance session)

The Awareness Session included several topics such as:

• What is COVID-19?
• Can we get cured once infected?
• Is there a treatment for COVID-19?
• Means of self-care and prevention of the spread
• How and when to use face masks and gloves
• Safe removal of face masks and gloves (with practical and on-field performance)
• Quarantine criteria
• How to deal with the household if a family member does test positive for COVID-19
• How do breastfeeding mothers who test positive continue breastfeeding while ensuring the safety of the newborn
• Household sterilization
• Myth busters regarding COVID-19
• Symptoms and the referral hotline in case of suspicion of COVID-19
• The difference between COVID-19, the flu and common cold and several other topics

At the end of the sessions, and due to the alarming reports across Lebanon among all communities and nationalities, a short brief description of GBV (Gender-Based Violence) was given and all hotlines for self-referrals were shared among girls, women, boys, and men. Also, informative brochures regarding COVID-19 in coordination with UNFPA were distributed among the participants.

The service is aligned with the national COVID-19 response in the prevention approach of the disease. Step one of the COVID 19 response in refugee and host communities included prevention at the level of community engagement and awareness-raising through the implementation of health awareness COVID19 preventive measures. The service provided through URDA and the support of GlobalGiving played a vital role in supporting the national prevention plan with a huge positive and assuring impact.

"The need for the COVID-19 Awareness Sessions and the distribution of the hygiene kits is more crucial now than ever in Lebanon and the need for further funding is required to reach our goal." - Alaa Kaddoura (Protection Sector)

Links:

• URDA & GG Support Poor Families During the COVID-19 Outbreak