iDE Canada responds to Covid-19 | April 3, 2020
COVID-19 has heightened awareness around protecting the most vulnerable. For iDE and our supporters, this includes the people we serve around the world, where access to clean water, soap, and proper sanitation does not always exist.
What is iDE Canada doing to respond to COVID-19?
Thanks to your support, hand-washing and hygiene have been a top priority for iDE for many years, and now even more so. The toilet business in Ghana you have helped create – Sama Sama* – has temporarily paused toilet sales in order to install and monitor free public hand-washing stations in high-traffic urban areas in northern Ghana. We’ve launched radio campaigns to generate awareness around COVID-19 and the importance of hand-washing. And we’re looking at other ways we can safely mobilize our network of local entrepreneurs around the globe to help protect vulnerable communities.
At the same time, the people we serve continue to need better income opportunities. To grow more food on their farms, and access better markets for their produce. This is especially important in the face of potential supply chain disruptions due to COVID-19. We’re working hard to anticipate these challenges, and find solutions that work.
Thanks to your support, iDE has built strong teams across our operational areas in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Those teams are now doing what they do best – listening to local people, quickly designing solutions and working with local businesses – to deliver services that make an immediate and lasting difference in the midst of a public health and economic disaster. Because of you, we are in a position to respond quickly and effectively in the places where we work.
And iDE staff?
We have always connected remotely with our colleagues around the globe on a daily basis, so we haven’t skipped a beat as we’ve transitioned to full remote work. Thanks to your support, we’ll continue to work both safely and ambitiously to tackle the world’s toughest poverty-related challenges.