Mohamed Badal is a 45-year-old father of 10, living in Fafan, a rural city in the Somali region, southeast Ethiopia. He is an owner of an electronic maintenance business. Like many small businesses, income has been deeply hit by the lockdown, causing him a lot of stress. Our team recently checked in with Mohamed to see how he was doing. Here’s what he told us:

How COVID-19 changes daily life

I work as electronic maintenance technician. My wife has a small restaurant. We were all doing ok before COVID-19, but now our daily income from the restaurant and electronic maintenance business is at risk. Demand from customers has rapidly declined, and our daily income is impacted. Customers who were traveling from surrounding villages are unable to come due to travel restrictions. I am really worried about my family’s future. 

Living in isolation

Everyone is living in in isolation for fear of contracting the coronavirus . And due to travel restrictions, it’s difficult to reach social or heath services. When I needed treatment for tuberculosis, I was not able to go to the Jijiga Karamarda Hospital. Nobody wanted to take me there. There is so much fear among the community, so social cohesion is affected.

Living in fear

I fear the virus. It is currently a stressful living condition and I am worried about the impact for the future if COVID-19 continues to spread. If the virus hits the area hard, life will be even more difficult.

Impact for the future

I would like our easy daily life back, with a daily income, free movement and social interaction. I like my job of maintaining electronics, and I would also like to a become role model to show other community members that people with disabilities are capable and strong enough to manage their daily life.

Staying informed about COVID-19

I am well informed. I’ve obtained prevention information from Humanity & Inclusion and the government. Some of the information is about washing hands with soap and water, and to avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth before hand washing. It’s also recommended not to shake hands.

I also received hygiene kits from Humanity & Inclusion. COVID-19 can be prevented by following the instruction provided by health professionals like maintaining physical distancing and avoiding mass gatherings.

I am personally able to implement these prevention measures, but physical distancing is difficult, because for the community here, being together is very important and people are not very disciplined, it isn’t easy to learn new practices.

Humanity & Inclusion works to protect the most vulnerable 

As of May 7, we count 141 new projects that aim to protect our beneficiaries and staff from the virus, and to help them during their countries' lock downs. As COVID-19 takes aim at our planet's most vulnerable neighbors, we're ensuring that people with disabilities, people with injuries from conflict, children, women, and especially older people have the information--and even the soap--to stay healthy. Learn more about our COVID-19 response.

Begin a monthly gift today to help sustain this work and reach as many people as possible.

On May 7, the United Nations presented its revised Global Humanitarian Response Plan for COVID-19. The number of countries covered by the plan has increased from 54 to 63 and the total financial requirements have risen to $6.7 billion. Anne Héry, Humanity & Inclusion’s director of advocacy and institutional relations explains:  

“We are glad the United Nations response plan gets to grips with the challenges raised by the pandemic and the unprecedented scale of its humanitarian impact. A global, coordinated, and massive response is required to tackle COVID-19.  

This latest version of the response plan takes into account the needs of vulnerable people, including people with disabilities. 80% of people with disabilities in the world live below the poverty line. They are particularly at risk from COVID-19. They are also the most negatively affected by the social and economic impact of the lockdown and social distancing measures implemented in their countries. People with disabilities and vulnerable individuals must not be side-lined in the pandemic response.

We expect governments to put their weight fully behind this action plan and to do their utmost to implement it in the field, while ensuring the most vulnerable people are provided with specific assistance.”

“This will help protect people from COVID-19,” Akhter Mohammad says amid a growing pile of finished masks he has sewn. He and his wife care for their three children in a rural area of Afghanistan’s Dand district of Kandahar. Akhter is 28, the oldest of 15 brothers and sisters, and therefore carries a responsibility to also look after his extended family, including his parents. His village offers few opportunities for work aside from for harvesting, which doesn’t provide enough income to support a family like his.

Akhter’s role was further challenged when he was injured from conflict, leaving him with a permanent disability. Without access to rehabilitation in his village, he endured years of pain, and his knee became misaligned, causing even more discomfort.  

In 2019, Humanity & Inclusion heard of his condition, and paid for him to make daily, 1.5-hour journeys to Kandahar, where the team would help him find a more dependable livelihood. He chose sewing, learning stitches alongside students with and without disabilities.

Humanity & Inclusion’s experience showed that a new skill, on its own, wouldn’t prove useful if Akhter was still in pain. So, the team arranged for him to receive physical therapy. They also explored accommodations that would make his day-to-day living easier. For Akhter, physical accessibility was never made a priority within his family or community. It wasn’t until meeting our team that he learned about accessibility and was able to benefit from the accommodations made by our team in the classes.

With a certificate of completion and a sewing tool kit from his course in March 2020, he was ready. But so was COVID-19.

Noting a dearth of personal protection equipment across Afghanistan, Humanity & Inclusion reached out to Akhter and his classmates to see if they wanted to learn to sew masks. Mask-making classes had to be remote, due to a lockdown, but students were interested.

With a new pattern, Akhter got to work. "It’s a way to practice, as well as a source of income,” Akhter says. “This effort helps fulfill the shortage of PPE, especially here in the rural area, where people don’t have access to the city to purchase masks anymore, because of lockdown." 

His first customers are his neighbors. He also shows them how to use the masks properly, and shares the stay-healthy messages he learned from Humanity & Inclusion. Hospitals and pharmacies also need masks, so his customer base is not limited.

“It’s a good moment for me,” he says. “I am feeling happy with the response and appreciation of the people when they see masks are available in their village. For me it is a time to fill the need and make relations.”

Dreaming of growth

Akhter is optimistic about tailoring. He makes clothing for his children and other family members, and has recently started receiving orders from customers who require different designs and sizing. This challenge encourages him to learn even more in-depth sewing skills.

He dreams of becoming a successful tailor, and, after the lockdown, he plans on opening a tailor shop—the first in his village. His goal: to train as many young people as possible to become tailors, just like him.

COVID-19 response in Afghanistan

Humanity & Inclusion’s team in the country is spreading awareness messages with beneficiaries like Akhtar. In addition to receiving information from the government, Akhter and his family is receiving guidance from our team on how to stay safe from the virus.

Humanity & Inclusion works to protect the most vulnerable 

As of May 5, we count 141 new projects that aim to protect our beneficiaries and staff from the virus, and to help them during their countries' lock downs. As COVID-19 takes aim at our planet's most vulnerable neighbors, we're ensuring that people with disabilities, people with injuries from conflict, children, women, and especially older people have the information--and even the soap--to stay healthy. Learn more about our COVID-19 response.

Begin a monthly gift today to help sustain this work and reach as many people as possible.

Meryam is a 40-year-old mother of 10, living in Ethiopia. After being injured in a car accident, she now walks with crutches. Meryam runs her own peanut trade business in Fafan, in southeast Ethiopia. But the lockdown due to COVID-19 has put a stop to all trading activities. Our team recently checked in with Meryam to see how she was doing. Here’s what she told us:

Business has come to a halt

I use to sell peanuts for a living. Last month’s profit was approximately 500 Birr (15 USD) and that was rather good. My elder daughter sometimes tailors and sews which generates between 150 and 200 Birr. My husband is a daily labourer, but I bring in the main income for the family. We used to have just enough to cover household expenses like food.

Due to COVID-19, the transport of groundnuts from the production sites to my home has stopped due to a national ban on travel. I have no source of income apart from my daughter, who still has some sewing orders, and support from one of my sons. Mutual assistance is really the key to cope with such a crisis in order to survive.

Hygiene kits & awareness from Humanity & Inclusion

Humanity & Inclusion has provided us with COVID-19 hygiene kits and awareness information. I have also received public awareness notifications via mobile and on our local TV about COVID’s origin, transmission and preventive measures. I have changed my habits. I used to wash my hands with water only but now I am now using soap, like the rest of my family.  

We have understood the main messages: frequently wash your hands with soap, no hand shaking when greeting and avoid public gatherings.

Education & health care

Like in most countries around the world, school teaching programs have ceased. Two of my children are still in primary school and one is in junior school. 

I need regular rehabilitation care for my legs, but it is currently impossible due to the limitation of movement. Plus, medical teams are mainly focusing on the COVID crisis. A few days ago, my daughter had a severe stomach ache and it took a long time to reach a professional because the few professional health physicians were already engaged in COVID prevention. 

Reduced social contact

I am a member of the local businesswoman’s group and I am used to participating in discussions on a weekly basis with other members about business and other social issues. But the group is smaller than usual. We are not allowed to gather all 25 members at once. For those that do come, we practice social distancing. 

I am really sad to see that traditions have been suspended. Last week we were informed that we would not be able to attend funerals. In this time of crisis, we really need strong social cohesion.

I want this crisis to pass as quickly as possible, so we can all be back to normal life.

Begin a monthly gift today to help sustain this work and reach as many people as possible.

Humanity & Inclusion's field teams have launched their most expansive emergency response in 38 years. Our goal: ensure the people we assist every day—people with disabilities or chronic health conditions, people with injuries, refugees, and especially older people—have the support they need to be protected from the virus.

Right now, we count 161 new projects that aim to protect our beneficiaries and staff from the virus, and to help them during their countries' lock downs. As COVID-19 takes aim at our planet's neighbors living in extreme conditions, we're ensuring that people with disabilities, people with injuries from conflict, children, women, and especially older people have the information--and even the soap--to stay healthy.

Help us reach as many people as possible.

Seven-year-old Samina lives in Pakistan. She is not able to walk, and cannot use her hands for certain tasks like bathing, combing her hair, or holding some objects. Samina used to be isolated due to her disabilities, but when Humanity & Inclusion invited her to be a part of a children’s group in her neighborhood, things began to change. 

Until the coronavirus hit. COVID-19 has forced Pakistan into quarantine, putting huge restrictions on Humanity & Inclusion's activities for vulnerable children, like Samina. Our team is still finding ways to ease the impact of the lockdown on children like Samina and her family, but the virus has effectively placed Samina back into her home. Into isolation. 

Before quarantine

Before the coronavirus, Samina was outside every day, playing with other children and making friends for the first time in her life.

Before our team provided her with a wheelchair, her friends would carry her around the playground so she could participate in the same activities as them. Physical therapists gave Samina rehabilitation care at the community-based center, and at home she did physical therapy exercises as many as four times a day to help improve her mobility and to use of her hands.  

Nine years ago, Samina’s family fled armed violence and has been living in displaced camps since. Her father is a daily laborer. “We are very poor,” her mother says. "We have never been able to arrange a medical treatment for Samina. But thanks to Humanity & Inclusion’s team, she was getting stronger.”

Support amid lockdown 

“All the improvements we have observed on her physical and mental condition in recent months risk to be wasted," says Sumaira Bibi, Humanity & Inclusion’s monitoring officer in Pakistan. "Samina felt very elated after each outside activity and we clearly observe a visible increase in her mental growth. Kids need to interact with children and play. By playing with toys, she was able to better move and use her hands and fingers. Such activities are essential for their well-being and growth. Samina also need to follow her rehabilitation exercises to ensure that her mobility will not be totally lost.”

Although our community workers cannot continue organizing children's activities during the lockdown, our teams are finding ways to provide vital support. “We have kept in contact with Samina's mother to help ensure that Samina performs her physical therapy exercises at home regularly," Bibi explains. “It is important to maintain her mobility. Sessions on health and hygiene, as well as social distancing are also being organized with Samina's family to help fight COVID-19."

Feeding a family

Samina’s father hasn’t been able to work for the past three weeks. They have very little to eat. Humanity & Inclusion donors ensure that her family will receive food, as well as a hygiene kit.

Like many parents, Samina’s mother and father find it very difficult to see their children so frustrated, depressed, and helpless during this global health crisis. Samina’s parents hope that the ongoing situation improves quickly so that she can meet up with the children’s group again. It’s not only fun for Samina, but it’s also one of the best therapies for her growth.

Humanity & Inclusion in Pakistan

Donor support has enabled our teams to work in Pakistan since the early 1980s, initially addressing the needs of Afghan refugees. Today, our mission has evolved to include issues that emerge from natural disasters. Learn more about our work in Pakistan.

Begin a monthly gift today to help sustain this work and reach as many people as possible.

Humanity & Inclusion’s teams in Togo are taking action to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Our priority is to help the most vulnerable people understand the importance of taking basic precautionary measures. We’re also helping others cope with their fear of the virus.

How does the virus spread? How can a person protect themselves? What’s best way to help people with disabilities, who are often the most vulnerable? Humanity & Inclusion tackles these questions and more.

Spreading awareness messages far and wide

Humanity & Inclusion’s team drives around the streets of Togo’s capital, Lomé, broadcasting prevention messages through loudspeakers mounted on the roof of their vehicles. “It works really well because people want clear information on how to protect themselves and their loved ones,” explains Irène Manterola, Humanity & Inclusion's country director in Togo. “There are a lot of mixed signals out there, so it’s not easy for everyone to navigate.”

Basic precautionary measures adapted to the most vulnerable

For many, the recommended precautionary measures are impossible to apply. For example, what about a wheelchair user who needs help bathing or eating? “Social distancing, okay! But people with disabilities or older people—individuals who normally need a caregiver or health or medical assistant, cannot be left to fend for themselves. We need caregivers to be able to protect themselves, while also attending to the most vulnerable,” Irène adds. 

Making hygiene accessible to all

The price of hygiene products in Togo has soared in recent weeks—including a seven-fold increase in the cost of sanitizer gel. This makes it even more difficult for people to take precautionary measures. To combat these challenges, Humanity & Inclusion’s teams are making bleach and soap for hygiene kits, so that the most vulnerable have access to these essential items. “We hand them out to our beneficiaries and in the poorest areas, where there is more overcrowding.”  

Radio programs to reassure the population

The pandemic has generated a lot of fear in Togo. To help people manage this fear, our teams have recorded a series of radio segments. “One of the biggest problems we face is how to gauge the information. People need to know how serious the situation is without making them feel completely helpless,” says Irène. Building on the success of these programs, we are now working with the country’s union of psychiatrists and psychologists to create a free counseling helpline that anyone can call seeking support.

Humanity & Inclusion in Togo  

Humanity & Inclusion has been working in Togo for nearly 23 years and implements multiple projects. This work is particularly in aid of people with disabilities and highly vulnerable groups. We work to improve the healthcare services provided to mothers and children, we promote inclusive education, and much more. Learn more about our work in Togo.

Make a monthly gift to help us sustain this work and reach as many people as possible.

For people living in the world's poorest countries, accessing information looks very different than it does in the United States. Living far from town, many remote villagers know little or nothing of the pandemic.

As COVID-19 devastates communities around the globe, Humanity & Inclusion is going the extra mile to ensure that as many people as possible, especially people with disabilities, know how to protect themselves.

Learning how to protect yourself and others from COVID-19 is the only way to prevent countless tragedies and to mitigate the spread. Humanity & Inclusion's teams have launched 72 COVID-19 projects in dozens of countries to protect and care for the people that often get overlooked. 

Going door-to-door

Life is harsh in Fokontany Ambodimanary, part of Madagascar's Maevatanana district. Here, people struggle to provide food, clothing and care for their families. COVID-19 can seem like a distant threat. But the emergency is becoming very real.

Marcellin, 36, was trained by Humanity & Inclusion to help teach people here to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. A member of the local relief team, he makes daily visits to the homes of people with disabilities, people who are older or highly isolated, and the most vulnerable families in his community.

He teaches them how to protect themselves and the people around them.

“We need to wash our hands regularly”

Albert, a father of five, has taken the lessons on board. The whole family gathered in front of their home and listened carefully recently, as Marcellin explained the basic precautionary measures to protect themselves from the virus. He took his time, showed them the proper way to wash their hands, and answered their questions.

“I learned that we need to wash our hands regularly with soap and stay at least one meter (or three feet, the WHO guidance) from other people to protect ourselves from the virus,” explains Albert.

Preventing the virus' spread

In regions of Madagascar not yet under lock down, it is essential that everyone is able to access information, particularly the most vulnerable people living in highly remote areas.

Marcellin is keenly aware of the importance of his mission. “The community takes a close interest in the messages I share with them about this terrible virus,” he says. “I’m glad to be able to do my civic duty.”

Humanity & Inclusion in Madagascar  

Humanity & Inclusion has been working in Madagascar for nearly 35 years and implements multiple projects. This work is particularly in aid of people with disabilities and highly vulnerable groups living in areas regularly devastated by cyclones and floods. Learn more about our work in Madagascar.

Make a monthly gift to help us sustain this work and reach as many people as possible.

Our team is taking special measures in Madagascar in response to the health emergency, following several confirmed cases of COVID-19. As part of two projects organized with CARE International and funded by the European Union, local relief teams are being trained to convey core prevention messages on the disease and to limit its spread. The teams are staffed by volunteers—men and women of all ages—including people with disabilities.

Relief teams adjust to the emergency

The local relief teams involved in these two projects normally work on prevention and natural disaster and weather risk management, to help people develop responses to cyclones, floods, etc. One project targets more than 300,000 people, including 300 highly vulnerable families, 60 schools and 43 disaster risk management committees. Another targets 412,000 people, including older people and people with disabilities, along with 23 local organizations. Local relief teams are adjusting projects in order to raise awareness of the disease and teach others how to protect themselves and their families from COVID-19.

Providing vital information

We’re sharing essential information on the virus--its transmission, the symptoms, suspected cases and people at risk, but also social distancing, hand washing, routine prevention measures, practical advice and other ways of raising awareness of health and protection measures to combat COVID-19. Humanity & Inclusion is training the members of the local relief teams, teaching them how to protect themselves and raise awareness amongst the people they assist. The learning aids used, such as posters and leaflets, comply with international standards. Posters will be displayed in each sector of the village communities where we work and in schools supported by the project. Specific and adapted advices will be provided to those with specific communication needs, such as Deaf people, people with hearing disabilities, and those with visual disabilities.

Training has already begun

Training sessions have already begun in the regions of Boeny, Betsiboka and Diana, and particularly in the Fokontany of Ambalavola, in the urban district of Diego. Participants were asked to stay a minimum of one meter (3 feet) apart and to refrain from any physical contact. Although the twelve members of this local relief team are more familiar to sharing information about weather-related natural disaster risks, such as cyclones and floods, they understand the pressing need for this initiative, faced with the epidemic. Each member follows the news closely and takes their role seriously.

A member of the local relief team and deputy head of the Ambalavola Fokontany, Paul has already begun raising awareness amongst the community. “At a gathering this morning, we asked beneficiaries to stay one meter (3 feet) apart. This training is very important because some information is not known here,” he explains. “The training allows us to separate the facts from the rumors and fake news circulating now, and to get across evidence-based, focused and comprehensive messages on how to prevent the disease. We also taught them new things, like hand-washing techniques. Now it is our turn to play our part.”

Photo: A beneficiary holds a flyer in Madagascar that was created by Humanity & Inclusion to share awareness messages about fighting the spread of COVID-19.