Is this the "endemic"?

This blog post was written by Megan Henderson, our Senior Communications & Events Officer.

A member’s farm in Burundi.

COVID-19 is not new news but there are reports that countries across Africa are moving towards the “endemic” phase. Of course we remain concerned, however, and as the Omicron variant spread globally, earlier this year we updated and re-shared our guidance for all partners and trainers on safe working practices throughout the pandemic. We also re-shared the Anglican Alliance’s helpful resources on 'Addressing Reasonable Concerns' and 'Countering Fake News' about vaccines.

Previously we’ve had reports of vaccine hesitancy across many of the programmes we support. Now, partners are reporting that vaccine hesitancy is reducing in rural communities. We were pleased to hear that in some communities, those who had been sceptical before are now queuing up for vaccines.

Because our partners work through the Church in every community they are trusted by Savings Group members and their neighbours, so we are uniquely well-positioned to help people inform themselves responsibly.

Alongside the health impacts, COVID-19 has created even more economic disadvantage and has presented many challenges for Savings Groups.

A World Bank report from January 2021 reported: “Although rates of infection have not been as high as in other regions, the economic consequences of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic in Sub-Saharan Africa have been severe due to the combination of declining global demand and local efforts to contain the disease.”

Figure: Income losses in COVID-19 times

Source: World Bank’s COVID-19 High-Frequency Monitoring Dashboard

In the light of these statistics, it is no surprise that Five Talents has been experiencing increased demand for Savings Groups. Savings Groups enable resilience and many members of Savings Groups fared better than their neighbours during the last two years.

Anna, a Savings Group member, in South Sudan said, “...my only hope for living during these hard times is our Savings Group. I got loans from my Group, although meetings were temporarily suspended. I used this loan to do small business to feed my family. I am lucky that I joined this Savings Group. The few weeks we closed business and we stayed home, most of the people who were not in any Group spent all their capital and they can’t come back to business. I am lucky that my group has advanced money for me to continue with the business.”

Fortunately, Savings Groups are still operating across all eight countries where we work (though meetings in Myanmar are limited due to the ongoing unrest). Thanks to your generosity, more than 30,000 families benefitted from Savings Groups last year. We hope and pray that the places where our partners work will remain in the “endemic” phase of the COVID-19 pandemic so that more families can re-build their livelihoods.

An update on Coronavirus

This blog post was written by Rachel Lindley, CEO.

Programme leader, Emmy, in Kericho disseminating health messages.

Coronavirus is continuing to impact the countries where we are working. We are continuing to work with these steps for ALL our Savings Groups:

• We are disseminating health messages and health training - particularly important as we have found in our surveys that some communities are unaware of the virus or how to protect against its spread.

• We are learning how Groups themselves are considering addressing needs.

• We are seeking to ensure Groups have a plan in place in case restrictions are brought in again (eg. how to keep their funds safe - or how to share them out).

• We are seeking to ensure Groups are prepared for coronavirus to return or associated restrictions to become harsher again - eg by facilitating field officers to help groups identify where they can source water and soap, who are the most vulnerable in the community, who might be able to help them).

• We are carrying out a survey to identify communities in particular need due to COVID-19, and what those needs are.

• We are mapping which other Church agencies, aid agencies or government agencies are active in the communities and might be able to offer relief in case of need.

• And, thanks to the mapping exercise of other agencies above, we will seek to link communities in need with those other agencies.

• We are considering how Groups may be able to rebuild their communities post-COVID.

• We want to continue to lend communities a hand up, not a hand out. Our Savings Groups are both part of the need and part of the solution (groups of women in the hardest-to-reach places, used to leadership, organising, handling money... A great asset in the response as well as being some of the neediest people themselves).

We will continue to provide updates on how our Groups are operating as the pandemic continues. Please keep an eye on our website or join our mailing list for these details.

What's on Rachel's Radar: COVID Edition

This blog was written by our CEO, Rachel Lindley.

At the start of the year, I foolishly tried to predict Five Talents' priorities for 2020. Little did I know... 

Of course, those priorities are still relevant - we must not lose sight of the big picture as we seek to respond to the immediate impacts of coronavirus. But the reality is that a big chunk of my home-working radar is now taken up with CV19. So what are Five Talents' three immediate priorities now?

1. How are our Savings Groups and local partners coping? 

2. So how should Five Talents respond? 

3. How much is Five Talents’ income going to suffer?

You can read more detailed thoughts on each of these questions by clicking on the links. 

It seems likely that we’ll be grappling with the impacts of CV19 for many months to come - but it is also certain that Five Talents’ work will be needed more than ever in eastern Africa. With your help, we are determined to make sure we can continue supporting our programmes and reaching out to new, even more vulnerable, regions too. 

A renewed appreciation of the importance of resilience, community and (re)building local economies may make Five Talents relevant as never before to new UK supporters too. So as ever (indeed, as predicted on the January blog - that one came true!), we ask you please to keep telling others about our work. 

Thank you for all your support. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or concerns. 

1) How are our Savings Groups and local partners coping?

Savings Group meets in Baringo, November 2019.

So far, there have been thankfully relatively few deaths in the countries where we work compared with the UK; at the time of writing (12th May), WHO data shows 31,855 deaths in the UK and 99 deaths across the 6 countries in eastern Africa where we have programmes (0 recorded deaths in Uganda and South Sudan, 1 in Burundi, 21 in Tanzania, 33 in Kenya, 44 in DRC). 

Is there a glimmer of hope that governments are containing the virus better than the US and the UK? As this challenging article asks: "the legacy of colonialism has perpetuated the lie that Black bodies are to be pitied and to exclusively be the recipients of aid. Is it possible for African people to be regarded as experts rather than passive victims?" 

Many African countries have extensive experience of containing epidemics; in our programme in DR Congo, for example, the message of hand-washing was already well-known in the villages from Ebola, and health workers are familiar with contact tracing methods. Equally, though sadly, many of our Savings Groups are far better acquainted with crisis than we are here in the UK. They always live 'on the edge' and regularly face droughts, flooding, war, displacement, domestic violence, failed harvests, outbreaks of violence.... Does this make them better able to cope with a crisis like coronavirus than we are?

Or... Is the relatively low number of deaths due to under-reporting and lack of testing and diagnosis?  Is the worst yet to come?

We must hope and pray not. The reality is that healthcare infrastructure where we work is weak. Kenya, for example, with a lower 'poverty count' than all of its neighbours, has just 130 ICU beds for a population of 50 million. And social distancing is impossible in over-crowded slums or markets, whilst hand-washing is an aspiration if you have no water, or soap. The virus could yet spread, and coupled with the impacts of drought, flooding, locusts and insecurity, the worst forecasts could come true. 

We know that many of our members are already struggling economically. With no state assistance (indeed, perhaps the opposite), if our members cannot run their small businesses because markets have been closed, their savings will soon run out and they will be unable to put food on the table. And our members, who at least have some savings and have received training on planning for unexpected events, are more fortunate than others in their communities. 

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2) So how should Five Talents respond?

Member at her business in Baringo, November 2019.

Our experience is building resilience through savings, training and community groups BEFORE a crisis - we have no expertise in delivering relief after (or during) a crisis. Larger NGOs have Disaster Relief teams ready to act at a moment's notice - and they have the financial capacity to disburse millions of dollars in aid (or goods, or vouchers - without distorting local markets). Five Talents does not.  

Equally, we have always said we give a hand-up, not a hand-out. Our funds pay a network of trainers across eastern Africa to unlock the 'talents' (skills and money) of communities themselves. Our message in every new community is that we give training - nothing else. It's a difficult message to deliver in communities which have become dependent on food aid after years of NGO programmes - but we find in the longer-term, it is much more sustainable and much more empowering. We believe communities have their own solutions. Resilience is local. 

And if we were to turn to aid now - after all, we might say, these are unprecedented times (overused as that phrase is) - what happens in the next crisis? And the next? And the next? Sadly, there is almost always a state of crisis in the places where we work. That is why we work there.

Does that mean we should walk by on the other side of the road? 

No, of course not. We want to stand by our communities in this and every crisis. The question is, how? 

As ever, there is no one-size-fits-all answer - although there are some common principles. Broadly, we’re responding in four ways: 

• Pastorally (messages of encouragement and support to remote communities)

• Health messaging (using our network of trainers to ensure even the hard to reach communities are hearing genuine WHO advice) 

• Technically (helping our savings groups think through how they can keep their assets safe at this time, or how to manage a ‘rush’ on the group savings)

• Mapping (how are our groups coping in different places? What are they already doing to adapt? Which other agencies are there to help if it gets worse?)

We know these times are tough in different ways for everyone. We’ve all learnt the value of a friendly phone call or a smile in the street. We’re asking our programme leaders to share messages of encouragement with our groups everywhere too.

And everywhere we work, we want to make sure remote communities have heard genuine WHO advice on coronavirus. There is a lot of false information and damaging rumours. We have a vast network of trainers in the hard-to-reach places, who speak the local languages and are trusted by the communities. So we've asked all of our trainers to disseminate proper health messages and advice to all of our groups - including by phone where the groups themselves can no longer meet. We're also sharing messages of hope and encouragement in these isolating times. 

Where Savings Groups can still meet physically (South Sudan, Burundi, DR Congo, Tanzania - albeit with social distancing or in smaller sub-groups), we're seeking to make sure they have plans in place in case a lockdown is suddenly imposed. How will they keep their savings safe in this period if the group has no bank account? Will they pause the savings cycle? Will they share out the group savings in case members need the money? How will they handle a large number of applications to the group emergency fund at once? 

These discussions are not just focused on the group - we're also asking our members what plans they have to support others in their communities too. Each Group may have its own needs, but we know they are part of the solution too. They are groups of well-organised, dynamic women and men, used to leadership, used to handling money - we know many groups will already be planning for how they can help the most vulnerable in their own villages. We want to find out how, so we can support their ideas and share the good practices emerging with other groups. 

Where our Groups can no longer meet (Kenya, Uganda, Myanmar, Bolivia), our trainers will be carrying out this data collection by phone to the Group leaders. 

And everywhere, we are trying to map which other NGOs, Church or government agencies are present, and what they are doing to help. If the worst happens, we want to be able link our groups up with expert providers of aid, those with the capacity (financial, technical) and experience to deliver.

Will we launch an emergency appeal ourselves? We are still considering that. Right now it feels unlikely - but we might, if in the coming weeks and months we identify several groups with urgent needs for food, soap or other essentials and we can’t find any other agencies able to meet those needs. But, along with all the other caveats above, pragmatically we also need to be sure we could actually raise enough money to offer meaningful assistance. And we need to be sure we can raise that money from ‘new’ sources, without jeopardising our ability to continue funding our usual programmes. Compassion can’t always be strategic, but it doesn’t seem strategic to raise additional short-term funds now if that leaves us short of funding to pay our trainers in 6 months' time - when we know our work to rebuild local economies, which really is our expertise, is likely to be vital. 

If we do raise any funds for emergency relief, we have three clear principles: to follow: 

• The funds would be in response to the needs expressed by communities themselves - otherwise, we risk falling into the trap of thinking we know what's best, despite our years of experience to the contrary!

• The funds would be channelled through the Church or another appropriate agency - not through Five Talents partners. Otherwise, we risk creating a precedent that means our own partners cannot effectively deliver their trainings on self-reliance in future, and we risk over-burdening our partners who are not experts in delivering aid. 

• Any funds we raise would be for the whole community too, not just for our members. 

But we are not at that stage yet - and we may never be. First, we need to do some more data collection to identify the gaps and the needs based on evidence, and to hear more about how our Savings Groups and the local Church are already responding themselves.

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3) How much is Five Talents' income going to suffer?

Savings recorded at a Group meeting in Baringo, November 2019.

The British press is full of stories of charities facing catastrophic drops in their income. We're so grateful that so far, Five Talents has not lost any income. In fact, we have raised slightly more money so far in 2020 than at this stage of 2019. Unlike some charities, we don't rely on events (like galas, auctions, major sporting challenges) or charity shops to raise a large amount of funding to support our income. Instead, around two thirds of our income comes from generous, loyal individual supporters. 

Of course, we know that some of those individual supporters may be struggling financially, whether through job insecurity or loss of investment income. We are expecting that some of our supporters may not be able to give as generously this year - and to you, we want to say of course we understand that. We would hate you to feel any pressure or obligation to give - now, or any time. We ask all our supporters to Pray (if you are a person of faith), Tell a friend about Five Talents, and lastly, to Give to our work. If you are unable to Give, please continue to Pray (if appropriate) and Tell. And let us know if you are in need of prayer or a friendly phone call yourself. 

At the same time, some of our supporters have been more generous than ever before in this period. As always, but perhaps now more than ever, your support means so much and is so humbling. Thank you. 

We've loved being able to keep in touch with our supporters in new ways during lockdown - much as we miss face to face contact, we're finding some of our supporters have a little more time to chat now, and others have been able to join our Zoom events where they could not have managed to attend in person. 

We are continuing to monitor our income carefully and have prepared five different income forecasts for the year and identified some savings we are already making (reduced travel, for example, both in our programmes and amongst the UK team). We have also identified further savings we could make - which might, in the very last resort, include furloughing staff. However, that really would be a last resort. 

We’ve lost count of how long we’ve been working from home now, but we remain really productive - I’m so proud of the way the team has adapted and remained so focused and committed. I know it’s foolish to make predictions, but I predict we will continue to need all of our small team firing on all cylinders so that we can keep raising funds and supporting our programmes as they too adapt to ever-changing circumstances. At present we are all incredibly busy, even at our kitchen tables, and grateful to be so since it shows you, our wonderful donors, are still giving - and that means our programmes are still thriving, even if differently from what we expected. Long may that continue. 

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Resilience, Adaptation & Community: Responding to Coronavirus

This blog post was written by our Communications & Events Officer, Megan Henderson.

Every day the latest news on coronavirus changes not just here - but in the 8 countries we work in abroad. Some of the communities are able to meet normally, while others are facing lockdowns and strict punishments for breaking lockdown rules. Even in the face of adversity our Groups have built community cohesion, and seek to remain resilient and face challenges head-on. We’ve heard great stories from our programme leaders as our Groups work together to help form a community response to the global pandemic.

Members in Embu handing out soap.

Several of our Savings Groups have received training in soap making. Originally the training was helping members diversify their income, now it plays an important role in supporting the community too. In Embu, Kenya, for example, our members are giving soap to poorer members within their communities so they can follow handwashing guidelines.

In Myanmar our partner, the Mothers’ Union (MU), trained members of our Savings Groups on how to make soap and hand sanitizer to help establish businesses. These members have partnered with others working as tailors to put their talents to great use supporting their communities. Members are sewing face masks and making soap and hand sanitizer and distributing them to vulnerable people. 

Our programme leader in Tanzania, Lugenge, is in charge of the Diocese’s COVID Committee. He is tasked with spreading messages to congregations about using masks, handwashing, and combating the virus. His leadership is helping not only our members but other vulnerable people in Morogoro respond to coronavirus. And because he is well known to many of them through our programme, they listen to him and respect his health advice - which is essential in the face of much misinformation and rumours.

Similarly, our Programme Leader in Aru, DR Congo, Grace Maneka, is giving a weekly broadcast on the local Church radio station to share health information with the remote communities she can no longer visit in person. Literacy rates are low in Aru, but many can listen to the radio even through a Nokia phone so it is a great way to make sure the messages are heard.

One of our members in Myanmar sewing a mask.

Community, adaptation, and resilience are at the heart of every action taken by our members and programme leaders.

Five Talents is continuing to monitor the situation with consultation from our local partners who are much better equipped to understand the impact coronavirus will have on their communities. We are encouraging partners to share health messaging to stop misinformation from spreading and urging leaders to spread messages of hope and solidarity as we know how frightening this virus can be. Sadly,  the communities we serve are used to handling these harsh times - far more so than we are in the UK. Our members have come together to face drought, locusts, ebola, flooding and other immense difficulties. 

We are currently gathering more information from our members and local partners so we can formulate a strategy adapted to these times but which continues to provide communities a hand up - not a handout. And of course, we are committed to empowering communities to rebuild their economy and secure their livelihoods through our programmes when coronavirus has passed. You can read more about our coronavirus response by clicking here.

Programme Updates: Response to Coronavirus

This blog post was created by our Communications & Events Officer, Megan Henderson.

We have been flooded with messages from our local partners as we check in on staff and ensure they, and our members, are remaining safe. Below are a few updates from our partners in their own words - you can even listen to them too!  We hope their positivity, faith and prayers for all of us encourage you.

Please note - these messages were received between 19 to 26 March. Things may have changed since their initial recording as we find the pandemic is creating change daily for us in the UK and our programme staff & members abroad.

KENYA

Revd. Elema, Mothers’ Union Coordinator - Marsabit

Elema in Marsabit.

“Receive Lent greetings from us here in northern Kenya. I’m Revd. Elema, the Mothers’ Union Travelling Secretary, Diocese of Marsabit. We are thankful to the Lord because for the last few days we have had good rainfall in a number of places in northern Kenya. We pray that the rain will continue into the month of April - this is a good start for the rainy season. On a sad note, about 31 persons in Kenya are now confirmed to have the Coronavirus. As a measure to prevent its spread all schools, colleges and universities county-wide were closed a week ago. Further church services are suspended until further notice. In addition to this, people have been advised to stay at home to help in preventing its spread. Nonetheless, a number of people have not heeded to this call because they to go out and work to put food on the table for their families.

Many in this part of the country just live from hand to mouth. We are also advised to wash our hands 12-14 times a day. Now washing your hands frequently with soap and running water is a huge challenge for many in northern Kenya. First and foremost, water itself is hard to come by for most communities living in the north. However, what has to be done, must be done. We are encouraging mothers to keep their families safe by practicing the science of washing their hands as required. Meanwhile, some women’s groups are asking us whether we can provide them with hand sanitizers to help reduce the risk of contracting the disease.

Please continue praying for us and the health workers as they treat the sick and try to contain the spread of the disease. We will be praying for you, please stay safe.”

Cynthia, Programme Coordinator - Western Kenya (Butere, Mumias & Maseno North)

Cynthia in Butere, western Kenya.

“Hope you are fine and doing quite well in the UK despite the challenge that the entire world is facing. We are doing quite well as the WECODET programme though most of our field activities have been suspended until further notice because of the pandemic that is affecting the entire world. I have managed to talk to a few Group officials concerning their meetings and the mode of payment for their savings, and most of them did not manage to save because the government’s instructing them to sit at home and take care. The majority of them are small scale traders. They depend on their businesses in order for them to save. They depend on their day to day activities like farming. It has been quite challenging to them. Though as a programme we had effected a payment model via the MPesa platform whereby an individual can send his contributions direct to the group account through his mobile phone. From the look of things it seems that most of our group members won’t manage to save, and that is quite challenging. We are hoping that our good God may have mercy on us, hear our humble cry, and restore the situation that the world is undergoing to normal so that we can go back to our normal life. Wish you all the best and have a Blessed day.”

TANZANIA

Kalistus Lugenge, Programme Leader - Morogoro

Lugenge in Morogoro.

“I am speaking from Morogoro, Tanzania, my name is Kalistus [Lugenge]. Thank you for sharing how the world is concerned about Corona{virus]. [For] Worship, the number of attendants has increased because some people believe this is the right time to ask God for forgiveness, and this happened because some believe that the disease comes because of sin. In the area of business it is not going well, especially for those products which are imported from other countries like China - its [imported products] price has raised [risen] up. But even local produced goods have gone up in price. This is because of the fear of COVID-19, and the fear of more spread of this kind of virus. People are fearing - there is a lot of fear now. In making sure that people are safe, the Diocese itself has got its statement towards its congregations. In many places: business areas, hospitals, churches and all offices, sanitisers and running water to wash hands have been placed so that people can serve themselves. I was just trying to talk with some group members. Unfortunately, they said they have no idea of what to do - but they are praying and asking God for mercy. We are very much concerned the spread can [will] not be as huge as we are hearing [it is} from the other places around the world. Thank you very much.”

DR CONGO

Irene Nyambura, Programme Advisor - Aru

Irene with our CEO Rachel in Aru.

“I wish to convey my greetings to all of you, our friends, from all of us here at Aru, Democratic Republic of Congo. Just like everybody else in the world, the news about the Coronavirus has reached us, even though to date we have no case reported in Aru. However, in the Democratic Republic of Congo 54 positive cases have been reported. Since March 19th social activities for more than 20 people were banned by the government and the public were encouraged to practice safe distancing. However, commercial activities are ongoing. We are praying, and hoping, that if we stick to the directives by the government, that this {COVID-19} will not hit us. We are very sad to learn of the effects the virus has had in other parts of the world, and we are praying very hard that this pandemic comes to a stop.

Since the directive by the government discourages social gatherings of more than 20 people literacy classes have been ongoing in our project locations. Savings Groups are operational, and we are praying that we shall be able to continue with the activities, and pray that the virus does not spread. We have held a session on sensitizing our community partners on how to prevent themselves from getting infected. We are grateful for your support and we are grateful that there exists this structure that is already adjusting to the local situation in order to keep the communities informed, despite the challenging situation, the difficult moments we are going through at this time. We thank you for your support, and we pray that all will be well very soon.”

BURUNDI

Claudette Kigeme, Programme Coordinator

Claudette in Burundi.

“Greetings from Burundi, I hope that this message finds you well. During this hard time I take this opportunity to encourage those who are effected by Coronavirus, and assure them of our love and prayers. In Burundi we are still fine, as no case has been officially declared. People continue to work and meet, and children go to school (except to international schools). Our literacy and Savings Groups continue to meet and save. However, measures of protection have been taken like quarantine for those coming from affected countries and closing airports. People are sensitized to avoid shaking hands. Even if Coronavirus is shaking the world and forbidding people to shake hands, lets keep connected in prayers and action - and we shall overcome.

I leave you with this word of encouragement that we find in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 verse 58 saying: ‘Therefore my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourself fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain.’

God bless you.”

UGANDA

Anne Lokure, Programme Coordinator - Karamoja

Anne in Karamoja.

“Following confirmation of new cases (18 people tested positive to Covid-19 to-date), the government introduced new measures including suspension of public transport and closure of all shops/markets dealing in non-food items for the next two weeks (beginning 25th of March).

While the serious effects of these measures might not be strongly felt in the short term, the long term negative impacts on the people’s livelihoods and overall economy can not be over emphasized. Our groups will with no doubt be negatively impacted especially on the savings as their small businesses from which they get regular disposable incomes for weekly savings will be disrupted.

At the moment, we have encouraged the groups to be innovative e.g. scaling down to 10 the number of members that meet during the weekly saving sessions in a rotational manner so that they comply with the government directive that allows a maximum of 10 people at any one meeting. Besides, safety measures of social distancing and sanitation should also be in place. A few groups are trying this out whereby the executives and 6 other members on a rotational basis meet and transact business on behalf of others. The rest of the members entrust their savings with the treasurer. Those groups in the urban/peri-urban areas like Moroto and Amudat respectively have been encouraged to also use mobile money to make their savings.”

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Please, continue to stand with our programmes as they stand with each of you. We remain connected in our mission, faith and prayer.

If you’d like to help our programmes remain resilient and continue to move forward consider joining our prayer network, giving online or inviting someone new to learn more about Five Talents at our first-ever digital event. Thank you.

Coronavirus: Remaining Resilient During Uncertain Times

This blog post was written by our CEO, Rachel Lindley.

Lake Baringo, Kenya.

You have no doubt been inundated with updates from all kinds of companies, individuals, and charities regarding the developing Coronavirus pandemic. Five Talents does not want to add to the panic and disruption the virus is causing, but we thought many of our readers would like to know how Five Talents is adapting both in the UK, and across our programmes globally, in response to the outbreak.

In line with government advice, our little UK team began working from home last week. None of us have experienced any illness, but we felt this was an important step to safeguard not only our staff, but also the most vulnerable in our own communities. 

Unfortunately, social distancing means Five Talents has had to press pause on some of our exciting upcoming events. We know many of you will be stuck at home for an extended period of time and looking for something interesting to remain engaged and inspired with the outside world! Keeping in touch is more important now than ever. We’ll be sharing some new ways to keep up with Five Talents soon - but in the meantime we encourage picking up the phone to check in on neighbours, friends, coworkers, church members and loved ones to ensure we all keep a positive outlook!

Many of you will wonder what is happening on the ground - and have concern for members of our Savings Groups. Our members and programme staff remain our top priority. Thankfully, in the countries we work in only a small number of cases of coronavirus have been reported. We are recommending our staff follow local government advice and travel restrictions. If you would like to monitor how our programme countries are being affected, you can do so by clicking here. 

If our trainers cannot travel to remote villages to train and support Savings Groups, and if Savings Groups themselves can no longer gather together, clearly much of Five Talents' valuable work will have to pause. We have committed to continue paying the salaries of our trainers as long as we can, even if they cannot travel to train. We are exploring digital alternatives for training, although the remote places we work means this might not be possible everywhere.

Our programmes have been building communities and resilience for 20 years - they are equipping members to face emergencies just like this one! We are also using this as an opportunity to share learning between programmes via phone calls and some programme staff are embarking on online courses - something they don’t normally have a lot of time for!

We are remaining positive, finding new approaches to training in our programmes and exploring new ways to engage with all of you here in the UK, but we recognise there will be tough times ahead - and as always, toughest for the most vulnerable both here and abroad. For those of faith, we ask you to pray for members of all our programmes, and for everyone affected by Coronavirus, as well as for all those in the health, education, charity and other key sectors seeking to keep essential work going throughout.

Please continue to check our blog or opt-in to our mailing list to keep up to date with ways you can stay involved with Five Talents. You can click here for more information on Covid-19. For ways to cope, we’ve found this website useful.