COVID-19 Response Update

Update on Hurricane Isaias: After skirting the eastern coasts of Florida and Georgia, Hurricane Isaias made landfall near the border of South and North Carolina and will bring rain and winds along the Eastern Seaboard through the day. So far, Disciples have fared well, and Week of Compassion staff is in conversation with partners to help provide relief in the complex COVID-19 environment.​
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Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other. Faithfulness will spring up from the ground, and righteousness will look down from the sky. The Lord will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase. Righteousness will go before him, and will make a path for his steps. ~Psalm 85:10-13

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Since March, Week of Compassion has been working to support partners as they meet critical needs during the COVID-19 crisis. Many have adjusted existing projects in order to meet evolving needs; others have implemented new programs to address new challenges. We recently shared that our Board of Stewards approved the allocation of up to $1.5 million for COVID-19 relief. This map gives just a glimpse of how those funds have been distributed so far; your compassion is truly at work “around the world, around the year.” We continue to work with global partners and through local Disciples congregations to meet needs and alleviate suffering. In the coming weeks, we will share more stories of the programs and people transformed through this work and more about how you can help. 
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• Sierra Leone: Improving food security through community agriculture, youth empowerment, and increased water access; Provision of hygiene supplies and health information
• Liberia: Food security through community agriculture, youth empowerment, and water access improvements
• Democratic Republic of Congo: Provision of hygiene supplies and health information; 
• South Sudan: Provision of hygiene supplies and health information
• Kenya: Food security; vocation and livelihood support
• Syria: Improving food security for Internally Displaced Persons through emergency food delivery and livelihood support
• Lebanon: Provision of food, hygiene supplies, and vegetable seeds for Syrian refugees
• Cambodia: Emergency food distribution and cash assistance for families facing income loss and food insecurity.
• India: Provision of food and hygiene supplies, especially among Migrant Workers
• Serbia: Food security and hygiene protection for at-risk children
• Mexico: Food security; support for distancing and hygiene measures among migrants and asylees
• Iraq: Provision of food and water for Internally Displaced Persons
• Jordan: Provision of food and hygiene supplies for Syrian refugees
• Palestine: Medical and food assistance
• Egypt: Distribution of food kits, hygiene supplies, and cash assistance to support vulnerable refugees during the pandemic
• Haiti: Livelihood support through production and distribution of hygiene supplies and health information to prevent the spread of illness; Agricultural support through seed distribution and other projects to expand food security
• United States: Solidarity Grants for 625 households experiencing extreme financial hardship in 26 states; COVID-19 Relief Grants for 39 Disciples ministries responding to food insecurity in 19 states

The Psalmist says that "the Lord will give what is good." We give thanks that our wider Church continues to be a part of how God provides for those in need, close to home and around the world.

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