These excerpts come directly from our partners and were compiled into this blog post by our Creative Communications & Events Officer, Megan Henderson.
A Savings Group meeting in Karamoja, Uganda.
Our partners have made great strides in helping our members continue to build community resilience and sustainable businesses. We asked our partners to reflect on what they have achieved and learned so far this year, even in the face of adversity. Our partners and the communities where we work are used to crises but coronavirus posed a unique challenge as many countries faced lockdowns and could not operate businesses normally. We had many great responses from our partners and we’d like to share a few with you below in their own words.
Lugenge, Tanzania
Our community's faith strengthened by asking God for forgiveness and healing. Also, our community had no plan on how to live during the time of hardness while after corona they mostly think about it and putting plans in place for future uncertainties.
As human, personal or as a community we plan to live with vision and objectives but we need to understand more about the challenges towards getting to our achievements and let's not be rigid for replanning.
Anne, Uganda
This year has taught me and the community to have contingency programming alongside the normative for easy response for emergency and also having reserves to cater for any emergency.
The positive thing coronavirus has given us is improved hygiene and sanitation (hand washing, sanitising whenever you get in contact with any thing or any person).
Cynthia, Myanmar
I can learn many lessons from the programmes such as: Things may not be easy to receive successfully. You have to be patient and pull them to reach our goal.
Because of COVID-19, we can learn Zoom techniques to communicate with our participants and communicate more with Viber and Messenger so that they know how to use it. One third of our programme was completed through internet communication. We pray for each other during the difficulties.
Now we are facing the second wave of COVID-19 and work from home again. Please do remember us in your prayers and we also pray for you.
Maneka, DR Congo
We are most proud that Five Talents has worked with us even through COVID-19. Whilst others (NGOs) have closed their activities in this period, with Five Talents we have kept working.
This year has taught us that the future is not ours, it is in the hand of God. Families who used to live apart because of work are now living together and the virus has caused more awareness of hygiene especially when there is a crowd. People are looking after one another. We are part of the community.