Our hands can harm. But our hands can also heal.

by | Collaboration, Community Safety, People Development, Proud of my Town

The message is clear. Wash your hands, do not touch your face, do not shake hands.

It is easy and natural, in times like these, to feel helpless and to wonder about what one could and should be doing to make a difference.

We would like to urge NGOs, NPOs, faith-based institutions, schools, businesses and community forums to join hands at this time in particular.

If you are planning or running a project in your area or have developed a solid plan of action or protocol to assist vulnerable communities and individuals, we urge you to:

  • Make contact with other stakeholders in your town and neighbourhood if you haven’t done so yet.

  • If there is an NGO (or similar) forum in place in your town and you are not yet a member or in contact with them, now would be a great time to join and collaborate!

  • Find out who is doing what and map stakeholders’ activities visually.

  • Share this information with all these groupings.

  • Take a look at where unnecessary duplication may be taking place.

  • Discuss possible resource-sharing.

  • Explore ways in which volunteering efforts can be co-ordinated and shared more effectively.

  • Share your initiatives with the local media to invite residents to support and volunteer where they can.

  • Document your journey so that you are ultimately able to compile a protocol for dealing with crises like these going forward.

  • Share information from credible sources via your networks. There is plenty of false information doing the rounds in our communities.

  • If you believe in the power of prayer, then pray.

Do you have ideas you’d like to add? Let us learn together.

We may all have different focus areas, but in times like these, more so than ever, we share a common agenda, we are fighting a common enemy.

And in times like these, we need to take hands, build relationships and collaborate more than ever before.

Please share YOUR stories and projects with us! We would love to help spread the news of positive initiatives taking place to help overcome this pandemic and ultimately, all work together towards building more resilient communities.