While the global pandemic impacts communities across the globe, the EWB-USA Central Houston Professional Chapter has also taken action to assist during this pandemic.
Below are the summary of the ways EWB-USA Central Houston Professional Chapter is trying to help and how you can help as well.
EWB-USA National Effort Support
EWB-USA was working to establish a low cost means to get temperature testing for fevers. EWB-USA Central Houston Professional Chapter member, Terry Applegate, proposed the use of 3D printed LCD strip thermometers.
This idea was pursued by EWB-USA with 3,000 thermometers purchased with targeted deployment in Nicaragua and Guatamala.
Kenya Program Support
Kenya, like many other countries worldwide, is responding to and experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic through a number of ways including nightly curfews, school closures, increasing unemployment rates, and social unrest leading to an increase in crime and violence. In-country NGO partner Brighter Communities Worldwide (BCW) has started several initiatives within the region in and around Kimaut in response to the ongoing COVID-19 situation.
Primary among these is the distribution of bars of soap and closed-lid buckets with spigots for use in handwashing, in which so far 30,000 households have already been reached. Secondary to their work is the spread of information, in the form of flyers and banners posted around communities with the help of ~900 volunteers, regarding proper hygiene practices to put into practice to fight the virus. The last of the major initiatives BCW is taking within communities to combat COVID-19, in addition to rising unemployment rates, is the commissioning of work projects for youth, including mask-making, construction of latrines and washrooms among the variety of activities.
To continue this ongoing outreach, the Kenya team partnered with BCW to help in this function. Funds donated to the Kimaut Water Project from May 1st through June 15th were be re-directed to Brighter Communities Worldwide.
Peru Program Support
In collaboration with the Detroit, Kansas City, San Diego, Sonoma, and Springfield Chapters a COVID-19 Relief Fund was established in partnership Amazon Promise.
Our partner NGO, Amazon Promise (AP), is a non-profit organization based in Iquitos, Peru that is focused on providing medical assistance to remote populations in the surrounding area. EWB has had a strong relationship with Amazon Promise for 7 years and in that time AP has helped us bring clean water to numerous villages. Now the same people who have made our projects possible are in need of our help.
Their need for assistance is urgent as their own staff is struggling to stay afloat. A $35 donation can feed a family for two weeks so please help us get food to those who desperately need it by donating now. Together we will fight this pandemic and continue to build a better world.
South Africa Program Support
South Africa like most of the world is being impacted by the pandemic. GirlStuff. is a program established via My Arms Wide Open and Manzimvula focused on the production of low cost or free washable and reusable menstrual kits providing over 8,500+ girls with menstrual kits while also seeing an increase in girls in Bergnek continuing school through 8th grade while creating a business employing 8 women in the community.
To respond to COVID 19, they have recently shifted manufacturing efforts to the making of face masks to help during the pandemic. You can support this program via donation to My Arms Wide Open directly.
Update: Funds donated in May 2020 helped enable the manufacturing of masks for the Bergnek community.