Hope Report 1
Quarter 1 2020
Quarter 1 2020
2020 so far has been about facing a hidden enemy. Covid19 hit the world and knocked everyone off kilter.
It frightened me on a personal level, gave me reason for concern on a business front, but across the globe, especially for those facing issues of poverty, the impact has so far been devastating. I felt the quote around different impact that you have probably seen on social media summed it up perfectly;
We are not all in the same boat. We are in the same storm. Some are on super-yachts. Others have just one oar.
So we have partnered with individuals and organisations that are supporting those who are facing this crisis with just one oar. We are proud to have financially partnered with:
UDB work across the city of Birmingham supporting children, young people and their families to remove the barriers that prevent their potential from being realised. They believe (as do we!) that a person’s postcode should not determine their possibilities. During lockdown, they have (at the time of writing) directly supported 250 residents, worked with partners to deliver 5000 hot meals, provided over 100 craft packs to families, and broadcast over 50 live shows through social media.
KCK are a UK charity working to bring hope and love to vulnerable children in the slums of Uganda. They have had to adjust their usual work in this season to ensure families and children are fed in the tight lockdown in Uganda. Public transport has stopped, and even using private vehicles is illegal. This presents unique challenges for the communities they work with in the slums of Kampala. People in Uganda rely on money earned day to day from the market to buy food, and the KCK projects usually provide an education for their children (and a hot meal) whilst parents works. Families are unable to work, and are so in desperate need of assistance to meet their basic needs such as food and hygiene. So, KCK have converted their educational classroom sites into food banks to enable the most vulnerable to come and collect a week’s worth of food to keep their family fed. Note: we also support KCK with coaching for their fantastic CEO, Olivia Barker-White
Open Doors are a human rights organisation that work globally with people who do not have the freedoms that we do in the UK to make personal decisions about faith or no faith. They stand with those facing severe injustice due to their beliefs. During the Covid19 pandemic, they have worked with their Rapid Response Teams to provide food across Asia for those left without work and no access to government support.
SOKO Kenya is a clothing manufacturing unit in Kenya. SOKO was set up in 2009 by Joanna Maiden whose vision it was to provide the fashion industry with a manufacturing unit with social and environmental issues at the heart of its business. The community trust was set up in 2013, to provide people with the practical skills needed to see sustainable improvements in their lives and lift themselves out of poverty. It has flexed its operations during the Covid19 outbreak, and has been making hygiene packs (masks, washable sanitary pads, soap and an information leaflet) to be distributed across Kenya.
This is the social response to the Covid19 outbreak of city centre church, St Luke’s Gas Street. There are 6 aspects to the social support being provided: weekly emergency food parcels, shopping services, befriending services, financial advice services, Kids Matter service and a personal support service.
Thank you for playing your part and making this happen.
Hannah x
Urban Devotion Birmingham