DISASTER RELIEF

COVID-19 IN ECUADOR

Dear Walking Palms Community:

Like many nonprofit organizations, the Coronavirus pandemic has forced Walking Palms into triage mode, balancing the acute needs of the communities we serve while acting to ensure our own financial sustainability. Fortunately, we are built for this. This is when Walking Palms shines.

Collaborating with our local partners, community leaders, Board and institutional partners, we developed and are implementing three new programs to address the most pressing needs of at-risk groups here in Bahía de Caráquez:

• Emergency food and sanitation kits

• Creation and distribution of COVID-19 personal care and conduct packet

• Family mental health guides

Thanks to our donors’ quick response and generosity, we have already delivered food and care packages to over 40 families in the Bahia area. PLEASE CLICK HERE to contribute, as a little as $25 can feed a family of four for two weeks!

Our work in and around Bahía has never been more important. In addition to fearing for their own personal health and safety, our families are facing food shortages and lack of to potable water, with limited access to medicine and essential transportation. With government resources stretched, Walking Palms and other global health NGOs are the last line of defense for the world’s most vulnerable people.

But amidst the chaos and fear, we are also taking time to breathe and reach out to friends, check in on family members and reaffirm those connections we sometimes take for granted. It’s easy for these small acts to be lost among the deluge of tragic stories in our feeds, but now is the time when they hold so much more meaning.

Walking Palms was founded on the principle that communities need support not only during an emergency, but perhaps more importantly in its wake. We look ahead, optimistically, to adapting our efforts from relief to recovery, regaining the momentum that Bahia has forged in the almost four years since the 2016 earthquake.

Looking forward to getting back out there to enjoy those mesmerizing Bahía sunsets, 

Abrazos,

Avriel Rose Diaz Co-Founder
Executive Director
Walking Palms Global Health Organization

EMERGENCY FOOD RELIEF PROGRAM

Strict quarantine requirements in Ecuador have helped slow the spread of the virus, but the economic consequences have been devastating for the country’s most vulnerable population. The Wall Street Journal highlighted the challenges facing workers in Latin America’s vast informal economy, and the health crisis in Guayaquil made headlines all over the world.

Here in Bahía, countless families have lost income sources and can no longer afford to buy food. With no re-opening of the economy in sight, the situation worsens every day.

On March 18th, Walking Palms launched its Emergency Food Relief Program, delivering food and health supply kits to the community’s most vulnerable groups, including the chronically ill, seniors and our lowest income residents. Since then, over 40 families have received packages and our list of families in need is growing.

Our donor base has already begun to step up, but we need more support:

• $12.50 - Food and supplies for one family for one week

• $25.00 - Food and supplies for one family for two weeks

• $50.00 - Food and supplies for one family for one month

• $100.00 - Food and supplies for one family for two months

• $200.00 - Food and supplies for one family for four months

Families receive two deliveries per month, with a goal of continued deliveries throughout the emergency and into the resumption period where people return to work. Kits include:

Dairy: Milk, butter cheese
Fruits/Veggies: Peppers, cucumbers, carrots, onions, tomatoes, potatoes, garlic, lemons, papaya, oranges
Protein: Lentils, dry beans, eggs, canned tuna
Grains: Brown rice, oatmeal, flour
Misc: Cooking oil, vinegar, peanut butter, toasted peanuts, coffee
Household: hand soap, dish soap, sponges, feminine products, protective masks
Health and Safety: Self-care guidelines, mental health guide, at-home kids activity packages, medicine

To protect the safety of our delivery workers and recipients, WHO best practices are used during procurement and distribution, including masks, gloves and regular disinfecting of all surfaces.

In addition to badly needed health and wellness supplies, this program is creating jobs and injecting money into the local economy. Our capacity to deliver these essential items to families in need is only limited by our access to funds, so contribute today!