By Alexandre Applefield-Alvarez | Director
Dear Supporter of Todos Podemos,
As the Director and Founder, I’m delighted to share with you this update on the status of our project "Help train Entrepreneurs in Colombian Barrios!," which in March 2020 you generously contributed to fund.
As you already know, the global Covid-19 pandemic unexpectedly hit the entire world, and affected virtually everyone's reality in an unprecedented fashion. Colombia – and Todos Podemos – are no exception to that. Since mid-March, both the national government and the city of Medellín, where we are based, decided to impose stringent restrictions in Colombia to slow down the contagion. The nation’s health system would rapidly become overwhelmed in the case of mass contamination. These drastic measures have made conducting in-person training both unsafe and entirely illegal, forcing Todos Podemos to postpone the implementation of the project until the sanitary and legal situation allows us to resume normal activities. Although it is particularly difficult to put a date on the reactivation of normal activities, it is expected that Coronavirus cases will peak in Colombia in August or September 2020.
We as an organization, nonetheless, have decided to continue to actively support the community of entrepreneurs and trainers that we have worked with in the past, and who continue to need us more than ever in facing these harsh times. Although our ability to provide direct help is now limited, we have taken the following three actions to serve our beneficiaries and community the best we can.
1. Online Quarantine Advice
Todos Podemos has created an entrepreneurship tips video series called "Consejos de cuarentena" (Quarantine Advice) on social media. This series of short videos cover a variety of topics that help entrepreneurs cope during this health emergency. Each episode is presented by an expert collaborator who addresses specific questions on mental health, time organization and discipline, accounting norms and legal changes, social media, among other relevant areas. To date, we have published nine episodes on our Facebook and Instagram accounts. We invite you to follow us @todospodemosconsulting on both platforms. We have also created a blog section on our website. You are more than welcome to visit and we encourage you to contact us if you would like to contribute with pertinent content.
See Our Facebook, Our Instagram, Our Blog
2. Community needs assessment
Todos Podemos has conducted a thorough telephone survey to all of our past trainees in order to assess their situation and identify current and future needs as change makers and individuals in their communities. A total of 65 entrepreneurs and trainers completed the survey, and our team is now in the process of analysing the results in order to design and implement the best-suited plan of action to serve their short-term necessities as well as longer-term goals. See attachment (Survey Results).
3. Online training
One of Todos Podemos’ most exciting new features is the creation of an online school of social entrepreneurship called Start-today.org, which has been designed to offer a variety of courses and coaching services to small entrepreneurs and social organizations interested in supporting them. Our first two courses are in production: The first defines and validates business ideas, and the second develops business models. These courses are expected to go online in late summer and provide access to our training and content remotely. They will also contribute to Todos Podemos' economic sustainability. For those of you who would like to participate in funding this project, I graciously invite you to do so on our project page. We are still accepting donations and need to invest in additional tools to provide our services under this new modality.
https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/help-train-entrepreneurs-in-colombian-barrios/
Finally, I would like to personally reiterate my gratitude for the donation you made in March and reassure you that your contribution is safely kept in our account ready to serve the cause you donated to. We thank you again for your trust and patience, and look forward to reconnecting with you with good news very soon!
In the meantime, please stay safe, and feel free to contact us at will.
Best regards,
Alex Applefield-Alvarez
Links:
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