Emmaus Ornans  (France) 

In Ornans, a town in eastern France, the Friends’ Committee has not given up despite the closing of its solidarity shop! Thanks to cooperation between Emmaus Ornans and the local branch of Restos du Coeur (a French solidarity association), the town of Ornans is able to maintain and pilot a local food relief initiative during the health crisis. “We have made our stock of food supplies available to the town council. We also make up food baskets with the local supermarkets, which are then distributed by the town council to the most disadvantaged, to people who are not able to leave their homes, to the disabled and patients infected by Covid-19 who are in quarantine.” explains a volunteer, Marc Bianconi. This is a very good example of how associations and local authorities are coordinating efforts to keep helping those who are most vulnerable.

Emmaus Lublin  (Poland) 

C.A.J.E.D.
 (Democratic Republic of Congo) 

CAJED, a group working for disadvantaged youth and children, is located in the Democratic Republic of Congo, making the country’s youth its priority. Along with several educational initiatives, CAJED works to identify child soldiers and offers them shelter at its Transit and Orientation Centre (CTO), while they trace their families in order to re-establish contact. “During this critical period with coronavirus, the group has demonstrated exceptional hospitality towards children linked to armed forces and groups, which are currently emerging in large numbers. In 5 days alone, at the end of March, CAJED vetted, documented and discharged 67 children from armed groups [...].  To respect distancing measures, some children have been placed in temporary foster families, explains Faustin Busimba, a member of the association.  “Taking into account the restrictions on movement between provinces and regions, and to facilitate reunification of these children with their families, the group asked and obtained authorisation from the province’s governor to organise special flights to the children’s areas of origin”, he adds. Furthermore, in terms of prevention work, CAJED is actively participating in a public awareness campaign (a motorised campaign) together with the Provincial Departments for Health and Social Affairs. This group remains committed and determined to help those who suffer most!

Kudumbam  (India) 

Kudumbam, a group located in southern India, is a fierce defender of sustainable agriculture and the environment. On the group´s organic farm, named `Kolunji´, traditional varieties of vegetables and pulses are cultivated by the staff and farmers who come to train there. At the same time, the group manages a microcredit programme through the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development. Faced with this crisis, Kudumbam has chosen to provide assistance to the elderly, widows, single women and disabled people who live in the surrounding areas. To do this, 1,500 group leaders from the microcredit programme were invited by Kudumbam to identify vulnerable people in their villages. The latter receive food products and vegetables to help them. The vegetables, distributed on a weekly basis over the next three months, come from motivated Kudumbam borrowers who own small shops and vegetable farms.  In addition, employees at the Kolunji farm distribute vegetables and eggs every day to the elderly and to widows who live in the vicinity of the farm.