FairPlanet.Support
| topic: | Humanitarian Aid |
|---|---|
| tags: | #COVID-19, #Coronavirus, #Kenya, #slum, #Nairobi, #child poverty, #clean water, #NGO, #donation |
| by: | Yair Oded |
The spread of Coronavirus across Africa is posing a serious threat to millions living in poverty without access to quality health and support services.
One such area is Kibera - a Nairobi, Kenya slum which is home to roughly half a million people. There, sanitation products and potable water are scarce, and an outbreak of the virus would be an utter disaster.
Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO), a Kenya-based grassroots organisation, has been conducting extensive outreach operations in support of communities living in slums in the Nairobi area—educating them about practices that could help contain and prevent the spread of the disease, as well as providing critical equipment, services, and means for sustenance
Founded in 2004, SHOFCO is promoting transformation in slums by providing locals with essential services, facilitating community-building, and organising education, empowerment and leadership programs for women and girls.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, SHOFCO has been providing the residents of slums like Kibera drinkable water, food, soap bars and cash stipends.
The organisation has installed 120 hand-washing stations across the settlements they operate in, and instructs people on how to wash their hands most effectively.
SHOFCO is also carrying out a vital public awareness campaign, through which they inform slum residents about practices they can adopt to keep themselves and their communities safe as well as dispel misinformation and wrong assumptions about the disease and ways to combat it.
"We can't sit pretty in our houses knowing that tomorrow we may have a crisis beyond our control," said Ed Gachuna, the chief finance officer of Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO) to Thomson Reuters Foundation News.
The organisation regularly consults and cooperates with government officials who are well-versed in outbreak response and procedures in order to deliver the best services possible to slum residents.
Please visit SHOFCO’s website to read more about its various operations, pledge a donation, and learn about other ways in which you can support its work in neglected settlements in Kenya.
Image: Vera Solutions
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