COVID-19: How we help people in need
During a global pandemic, the world largely concentrates on those places that have been hit the hardest in terms of number of infections and deaths. This includes the wealthiest cities of the Western world: New York, Milan or London. Other global megacities have been subject to a more silent, yet possibly more fatal, surge in infections: Nairobi has been locked down since mid-March, Manila has been under a strict quarantine for more than 12 weeks, while Mumbai surpassed the 40,000 mark in infections at the end of May.
Given the density and severe overcrowding of these cities, they have multiple risk factors: packed in substandard and poorly-ventilated buildings, millions of people lack access to clean water, basic sanitation and regular electricity. If public transportation still runs and jobsites are open, people squeeze into busses to get to work. At the same time, testing capacities and medical services are limited. As a consequence, countries in the southern hemisphere have taken harsh measures to contain the virus.
Given the density and severe overcrowding of these cities, they have multiple risk factors: packed in substandard and poorly-ventilated buildings, millions of people lack access to clean water, basic sanitation and regular electricity. If public transportation still runs and jobsites are open, people squeeze into busses to get to work. At the same time, testing capacities and medical services are limited. As a consequence, countries in the southern hemisphere have taken harsh measures to contain the virus.
Many consider the effects of such complete lockdowns to be even more harmful: because they work as day laborers, most people have no savings and no permanent income. Under lockdown, they quickly lose their livelihood and have no perspective for near-term recovery given the global economic downturn.
The World Bank estimates that almost 50 million people could be pushed into extreme poverty by the consequences of the current crisis.
At the Hilti Foundation, we try to find the best answers to respond. This includes immediate assistance to families connected to our programs while maintaining our programmatic focus on combatting poverty with even stronger motivation. This is why:
Economic Empowerment
The COVID-19 pandemic has made us aware of the vulnerability of cities which, until today, have served as a promise for economic success and personal growth. While it has never been easy for the urban poor to make a living in places like Nairobi, the COVID-19 outbreak has led many to turn their backs on the city and return to the countryside where they still have family. The narrative of the city as a place of opportunity has lost its appeal.
In this context, our programs in East Africa become even more relevant: Enabling small-scaleenterprises in rural areas to grow into flourishing businesses is more than just a fight against poverty – it helps an economy grow and develop, creating jobs and income across the entire country.
Through our programs, we aim to have 40,000 small-scale farmers complete their business training by 2023, putting them on a path to forming a new middle class in rural Kenya, ready to invest themselves in the core aspects of social development – education, health and social inclusion.
Affordable Housing & Technology
A safe place to call home is a prerequisite for any social development. It provides a safe and hygienic living environment, especially for children – with enormous effects on their health. They have a place to do their homework or to invite friends, while otherwise they would have no chance but be out on the violent streets of an unstable neighborhood. The parents will not have to worry about their family while at work making an income to feed them. Solid construction eliminates the worry that the next rainfall or storm could put them back on the streets.
The COVID-19 crisis encourages us to help create and implement even more solutions for better and safer housing for families in need. A priority continues to be the Cement Bamboo Frame Technology and its application at massive scale, building 10,000 homes in the Philippines and facilitating projects in other parts of Asia. Other programs that aim for better and safer construction in informal settlements focus on India, East Africa and Latin America.
Music for Social Change
Past crises hit the younger generation especially hard. Their perspectives to invest into their own future, to follow an education and find employment deteriorate as systems come under turmoil and the economy declines. Also, the COVID-19 pandemic has the potential to drive young people in particular into poverty. Many will fall victim to crime and street violence.
Especially in Latin America, our music programs have a strong track record of creating opportunities for young people to take a different route in life: Through music, they learn what it means to concentrate, to collaborate and to work hard for one’s success. In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences for social and economic life, these programs manage to create hope and perspectives for future generations, encouraging them to practice critical thinking and take responsibility for their own lives.
The Academy for Impact through Music (AIM), which is currently being established, seeks to make this engagement more sustainable and systemic, by investing in the professionalization of the Music for Social Change sector.
Our video clips of young musicians from our programs, recorded during the lockdown, are just one example of the power of music to give hope. Watch all clips on our Instagram channel.
Across all three focus areas, families connected to our programs have lost their limited incomes and livelihoods due to COVID-19.
Beyond our efforts, we therefore encourage our program partners to employ funds for immediate assistance where families face particular hardships. In Kenya, Tanzania and Afghanistan the local teams have started to distribute emergency aid kits and disinfectants to 10,000 families. They also provide training in measures aimed at containment. Similar programs have been initiated, with our support, by our partners in the Philippines, Nepal, Peru and Colombia, helping thousands of families withstand the crisis, and to get back on their feet when things return to normal.
With Médecins sans Frontières as our long-term partner in disaster-relief, we are increasing efforts to deploy aid internationally. This includes, in particular, the development of a new data-driven tool that will help coordinate large scale aid operations more effectively.
The immediate future will show where additional help will be needed the most.
We will keep you posted.