Protect vulnerable school children during COVID-19

HELP PROTECT CHILDREN AND THEIR COMMUNITIES IN RURAL MOZAMBIQUE FROM COVID-19 

We’re raising urgent funds for basic supplies to protect students and their communities: soap, canisters for clean running water and locally made face masks

COVID-19 has hit third world countries especially hard, leaving some of the poorest communities devastated and suffering even more than they already were pre-pandemic.

Mozambique reacted quickly in March 2020 with a seven-month lockdown, leaving children without any education for most 2020 and part of 2021  (something our charity has been fundraising for prior to the pandemic) as homeschooling isn’t an option.

Cases and deaths are on the rise, peaking this month.  Although Mozambique's cases are accelerating, it's hard to know if cases are accurate because testing is not available to everyone, especially in rural areas where healthcare is almost non-existent. Vaccines are not accessible in rural areas, and are barely available in major cities. 

Major cities are currently back in lockdown in an attempt to curb the numbers, but schools in vulnerable remote areas are now open. 

RURAL SCHOOLS ARE NOW OPERATING AND ARE NOT EQUIPPED TO PROTECT STUDENTS
Schools are now open in remote areas, which presents a huge threat to thousands of lives because they are not equipped to deal with the virus, both preventing the spread of COVID and treating it.  

Rural schools are already dealing with extreme poverty, and parents do not have the financial means to protect their children - many can barely afford food and basic school supplies. 

These schools and communities don't have access to safe, running water, let alone be in the position to be able to buy soap or masks to help prevent the virus. Heath care is at a third world standard, meaning the effects of an outbreak could be devastating. 

 

Photo: Masks are one of the one ways this community can help protect themselves from the virus. Masks are locally made by tailors, providing much needed income to other families

 

THIS IS WHERE YOU COME IN

We need your help to buy each child a mask, bar of soap and water canisters to house safe running water. These will be distributed to student's homes. 

For just $8.50, you can give a child access to clean running water, a cloth mask and a bar of soap that will help protect their families. 

You're not just protecting one child - you're protecting their entire community and also supporting local tailors by providing locally-made masks. 

WHAT WE HAVE DONATED SO FAR?
In 2020, we raised enough money to supply 380 students at Vondo School with masks, soap and clean running water to help protect them, their families and ultimately their vulnerable communities. Orlando also travelled around schools in 2020, educating the children on how to protect themselves from the virus (something that isn't accessible like it is here in the West).

"We started to produce leaflets that show how to be protected from Coronavirus. We distributed 15 boxes of soap, each box with 15 small bars, we offered the school 10 plastic buckets with hand washing taps, we offered the school a 500 liters plastic tank for water conservation as the water source is too far away from the school, we distributed 380 masks.

It should be noted that these masks are local hand made and purchased in the community to enable the empowerment of women in that region. 

With your donations through Go Fund Me, we made visible interventions in the school ."

On behalf of the children benefiting from Orlando Fund campaign, I want to that you all for helping us make a positive difference in those children lives. Your support spurred our continued commitment to our goal. We couldn't have done it without your help.”

- ORLANDO,  Founder of The Orlando Fund, Mozambique 

WHERE DOES YOUR MONEY GO?
Your donation goes straight to the Orlando Foundation in Inhambane, where it will be distributed directly to Tsenane School students where 380 school children and their families will benefit.  The school is located in one of the poorest communities in Inhambane. 

Funds will be used to supply each child with a mask, their own bar of soap and access to clean water. 

The reusable masks will be made by local tailors, which will inject much-needed funds into poor communities who've lost all their income during the pandemic (Mozambique relies heavily on tourism).

When school resumes, the students walk approx. 20kms each way to get an education every day, which sees many children drop out because they don't have food, water or basic school supplies. 

(Learn more about that here , and see how you can help kids stay in school)

The school does not have adequate sanitary systems, the 2 bathrooms are drop toilets and made from local equipment. There are basic classrooms which consist of open thatch walls.  The school often floods in the rain season and doesn't have fencing, leaving the children vulnerable to wild animals. The school has an open space for sport, but no balls . 

Our aim is to raise enough money to give each child two masks (so they can frequently wash and alternate masks) and scale this project to reach more children in the province. 

Cost breakdown

1 x Fabric mask - $AU2  (R20, 100 mets, $US1.45)

1 x bar of soap -  $AU0.70 (R 7, 33 mets $US0.50)

1 x Water container  + cannister with tap  - $170 US (R2086, 8500 mets, $US120)

(10 required - $AU4.50 a child)

Supply and water transportation  - -$170 US (R2086, 8500 mets, $US120)

($0.50 per child)


Anything you can afford to give goes a long way - you are literally helping to save lives with every dollar. THANK YOU

Photo: Orlando visiting schools just before the first lockdown in 2020 to educate kids on coronavirus.