Supporting Community Solutions During Pandemic

These uncertain times have been difficult for all of us — especially for our partners around the world. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, we are seeing everywhere how inequality exacerbates suffering and loss in the most vulnerable communities.

We are in the process of making nearly $350,000 in emergency grants to our partners and grantees. Here is just a sampling of the life-saving projects the fund has supported so far:

• Purchasing medication, masks, hand sanitizer, and other products for Afro-Brazilian Quilombola communities in Brazil;
• Supporting quarantine efforts in Indigenous autonomous communities in Mexico;
• Providing preventative health education materials and outreach to Garifuna communities in Honduras;
• Funding COVID-19 emergency rooms for Palestinians living under Israeli occupation in the West Bank, keeping Palestinian community clinics open for acute and chronic patients who need care for other illnesses, and providing food distribution to quarantined families;
• Developing safety measures related to food delivery from small-scale farmers and communal kitchens in Puerto Rico so they can continue to feed the community during this crisis;
• Training Haitian organizers in COVID-19 prevention and psychosocial support as well as how to create hand sanitizer and disinfectants so they can take this knowledge back to their communities; and
• Launching a global campaign to “Stay Home but Not Silent” to make sure that lockdowns don’t lead to more crackdowns. We cannot defend our lives unless we defend democracy.

“Flattening the curve” is only the first obstacle that we will all have to overcome. We are preparing ourselves for the long road of recovery ahead — to fundamentally change the health, social and economic systems responsible for injustice. By supporting our partners during this pandemic, you are showing that mutual aid and solidarity extends beyond our borders, to our global social justice family. We are getting requests for emergency funding from our partners daily, which is why your support right now is more critical than ever — and you’ll have twice the impact when your gift is matched!

Together, we can build a new normal rooted in justice, solidarity, and love.