COVID-19 has been a serious matter for our communities since the outbreak began to spread around the world. From the start, our team has been concerned by the lack of medical resources in the places where we work. We consulted with local health experts and our own international partners to figure out how we could best prepare for an unpredictable crisis. When we launched our Readiness & Resilience Fund, you responded by helping us raise over $60,000 in the first few weeks of the campaign. This includes a $10,000 match you helped us unlock for #GivingTuesdayNow.

We want to share a few of the stories of how our communities are responding during this crisis. When you support our Readiness & Resilience campaign, you are helping our partners keep their families and neighbors safe.

Denis makes face masks for his community of Jesom during COVID-19.

In Haiti...

There are no known cases of COVID-19 in Jesóm, Haiti, but community members need to be vigilant. At the same time, many families are concerned about limited access to income and food at this time.

Community savings groups provide access to funds that allow members to plant and grow their own food. In many ways, they are a lifeline. But can they meet without the proper protective equipment?

Years ago, your support helped a number of our Haitian partners expand their businesses, including Denis. Denis expanded his tailoring business to create school uniforms. Now, he’s been busy making facial masks for his community so they can conduct essential tasks while remaining safe.

When you invest in Readiness and Resilience, your help doesn’t just help people avoid the virus.

It also helps people weather the downstream effects, which include food shortages and interrupted opportunities to work.

Basilia in Sabana, Dominican Republic

In the Dominican Republic...

Concerns over the coronavirus in the Dominican Republic have made it very difficult for families to procure basic supplies and food. Basilia, in the community of Sabana, has noted that many of her relatives have grown concerned, both of the virus and of their ability to have food.

Thanks to the way you've invested in ecological resilience, she has been able to apply sustainable agriculture techniques. She makes fertilizer and practices soil conservation. All this has resulted in healthy soil which now allows her to grow a large portion of the food her family needs.

"We have not been as badly affected by this pandemic," she tells us. "We don't have to go out to the store just to get a packet of juice mix in order to have juice. The oranges we produce on our own parcels here can go in our juice."

These oranges, she tells us, are higher quality. And she can grow a greater quantity of them as well.

Currently, there have been around 16,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the Dominican Republic, including some in the areas where Plant With Purpose works. However, our partners have reported that our community members have been resilient in avoiding the worst of the outbreak as well as its economic impact.

To hear from Basilia herself, just follow this link.