MHO's response to COVID-19

As cases of COVID-19 in Cambodia continue to climb*, we want to provide you with an update on the status of our own activities and the effect of the outbreak in our community.

Since the report of confirmed cases in the country came out, we have set up and implemented a precautionary plan. We have educated our staff and beneficiaries about COVID-19 and the importance of hygiene and social distancing to protect ourselves from this virus. Our staff in Phnom Penh and Battambang now have a significantly reduced presence in our offices and in the field having moved to working online until further notice.

We at Mother’s Heart continue to serve our beneficiaries in the best way that we can while carefully managing in-person interactions with them. In situations where personal contact is needed, such as mother and baby health checks, our staff have strengthened precautions to prevent possible transmission of virus.

In the span of two weeks in which many businesses have wound down, twelve of our clients have already lost their incomes and require our immediate assistance. We have already planned and implemented intervention with the most critically needy, but many others of our clients are also being impacted financially by the measures being taken to curb the virus’ spread, and we need help with this larger, immediate, and ongoing picture.

Daily increasing social distancing and increasing shutdowns of more and more avenues of employment mean our beneficiaries are, today, losing financial independence and the means to support their families during this time. Their current positions are fragile. Many of their situations are open to sudden and catastrophic change. Overwhelmingly, this threatens to become a backward step in their progress. There is no safety net in Cambodia for these people. They face possible homelessness.

Mother’s Heart has distributed support packages. These include food and hygiene packs which consist of rice, noodles, canned fish, soap, toothpaste, and bleach, and a modest stipend to buy fresh vegetables, meat and fish to ensure a nutritious diet, and to cover ongoing rent and utilities while employment remains inaccessible. While this means an unexpected increase in current and foreseeable future running costs for us, we must provide support to our clients for as long as it takes. We feel this is a critical emergency expense as it lies outside of our planned expenditure and activity schedule for this year.

This is a tough time for everyone across the globe. Markets are crashing and currencies are devaluating. Given that, we are most especially grateful for the support we are receiving from you, our donors, and through organisations such as GlobalGiving.

Any amount you donate will help us to support our beneficiaries during this difficult time. Here is the link to MOTHER'S HEART DONATION PAGE on Global Giving site:

https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/safe-maternal-care-for-crisis-pregnancies-cambodia/

And here is the link to our website's donation page: https://www.mothersheartcambodia.org/donate

We will keep everyone updated on our plans and progress as the situation evolves. For now, we thank you for your continued support, and stay safe.

*** As of today, there are 109 confirmed cases in Cambodia. Source: Johns Hopkins University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) https://www.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html?fbclid=IwAR0jg7cJycAXEJ3d5jOq49j5z-4tRw6i_oiS12NDTJbCBOZJ8zRo8bbc56Y#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6