Let's Help Garment Workers Affected by Coronavirus

The global pandemic has dealt immense damage to the country of Bangladesh, where many of these garment workers and factories are based. Global brands depend on Bangladeshi garment workers to make their clothes, but in the wake of this crisis, they have not been able to pay for over $1.4 B in goods already made. Because of this,

1.2 million workers have already been laid off with many more on the horizon in the coming weeks.

To do our part in supporting our Bangladesh community, Shimmy  has partnered with Remake and the Awaj Foundation , a grassroots labour rights NGO with over 600,000 workers across Bangladesh.

Through Awaj's projects, services, research and advocacy, they aim to empower workers, particularly female workers, and enable harmonious industrial relations.

In the wake of this crisis, Awaj is getting aid such as food, rent and other necessities to workers and their families who have lost jobs. These workers have little to no savings set aside to deal with the unexpected medical costs that a crisis of this magnitude will bring.

To start, we raised $4,000 to help at least 30 workers.  With the help of an amazing group of donors, we got to $10,000 and we are now increasing our goal to $20,000 because the need is so great.

All contributions will go into an emergency worker fund that will provide cash disbursements to make sure basic needs for food and shelter are met. Awaj Foundation will also continue to provide some health services and will connect workers with other resources when they need more intensive help.

Let's bolster the Awaj Foundation's mission to help these workers stay healthy and strong.