COVID-19 Awareness
To ensure that less-income communities' needs were adequately addressed, the Foundation, in partnership with the Segal Foundation, launched the third phase of its COAI campaign. This next phase focused on media and print sensitization, capacity building to local organizations, providing food and clean drinking water to COVID-19 impacted community, and distributing sanitization materials to individuals, institutions, and homes within Montserrado and Margibi Counties.
CAPACITY BUILDING
The Foundation identified ten (10) local non-profit organizations in Montserrado & Margibi counties undertaking similar Coronavirus outreach and awareness initiatives. We wanted to extend our reach in remote communities and support the work of these small non-profits. As such, we supported ten organizations with US$150 each. We presented nose-masks, soap, bumper stickers, and awareness flyers to aid in their outreach process in addition to the funds.
MEDIA & PRINT SENSITIZATION
As a means of disseminating the awareness messages to counties affected by Coronavirus, we partnered with ten radio stations in Montserrado & Margibi counties to play jingles about Coronavirus. These jingles were then translated into local Liberian dialects and were aired on same radio stations. We also conducted door to door outreach to distribute our print materials which illustrated ways to curb the spread of the virus. More than 1,000 bumper stickers, and flyers were distributed during this period.
EMERGENCY FEEDING
The campaign targeted two of Liberia’s counties namely, Montserrado and Margibi. In Montserrado county, we targeted 5 communities namely, Brewerville, Virginia, Thinkers Village, Airfield, and Peace Island. Each community received 5 bags of rice along with 5 hand washing buckets, 5 cartons of soap, and 80 pieces of nose masks. We also supplied all the communities mentioned above with clean drinking and domestic use water. The distribution of clean drinking water extended to the Monrovia Prison Compound. Over 5,000 gallons of cooking water and 2,000 sacs of drinking water were supplied to the inmates.
In Margibi county, Harbel, Fendell and Smell No Taste and in Montserrado county, Clay Ashland and Todee, 50 elderly persons in these communities received one bag of rice with one gallon of oil each. Thirty-eight (38) of GPFA's high school students also received assorted food items and over 95,000 Liberian Dollars to help their families during these challenging times.
The campaign also assisted youth-led organizations in their outreach to COVID prone communities. 10 bags of rice each were given to Brighter Initiatives for Revitalization & Development, Concern Youth Initiative, Federation of Banjor Youth Group, totaling thirty bags of rice.