As countries lockdown to contain the spread of COVID-19, many communities surrounding BIC churches are experiencing a time of great need. Lockdowns have prevented vulnerable populations who live day to day from going out to earn money for food, resulting in hunger. Also, battling to contain the spread of COVID-19, hospitals are in need of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and other essential supplies.
We praise God that generous contributions positioned the Global Compassion Fund to respond to requests for funding, recently giving $36,590 to BIC communities in six different countries in need of food and medical supplies.
Our BIC brothers and sisters in Honduras, Guatemala, and Colombia are using compassion funds for food distributions. In the Middle East, funds are helping refugee families eat and pay rent. Mission hospitals in Zambia and Zimbabwe are receiving funding for essentials, including PPE, during these unparalleled circumstances.
For Macha Mission, a BIC hospital on the frontline of the COVID-19 response in Zambia, the greatest need was for medical supplies, such as X-ray films, equipment to measure oxygen levels, and IV tubing. As cases in Zambia began accumulating, the hospital received $5,000, allowing them to purchase medications and PPE like face masks, face shields, and gowns. The hospital also put in place infrastructure to promote isolation between patients by purchasing partition walls and doors.
In Honduras, the pandemic and its economic impact have intensified normal levels of hunger. “A lot of families, who willingly follow the government’s STAY-AT-HOME decree, do not have any source of income to purchase food because they work and live day by day,” writes BIC Honduras leader Adolfo Espinal.
With $12,000, BIC pastors in Honduras distributed a week’s worth of food for hundreds of the most vulnerable in their congregations. Food distributions included staples like corn flour, beans, rice, and sugar.
Similar food distributions have taken place in Guatemala and Colombia. In Guatemala, eight BIC pastors used $3,490 in compassion funds to give staple foods to 400 families.
BIC pastors and leaders identified about 20 needy families to receive weekly distributions in Colombia. To supplement donations from the national church, the Global Compassion Fund released $3,500 to help buy food, medicine, and hygiene products for these families.
In the Middle East, $3,000 helped show Jesus’ love to Syrian refugees. Ten families in dire need received assistance with buying food and paying rent.
Illustrating the domino effects of the pandemic, the Phumula Mission Hospital in rural Zimbabwe needed funding to be able to serve meals to patients and buy diesel for their water pump. Making the situation at Phumula Hospital more difficult, the government is not currently providing hospitals with financial assistance and is prohibiting them from charging for services. Supplemented with $9,600 distributed over the next year, Phumula Hospital can continue operating compassionately as the only medical facility, apart from small clinics, in a vast area.
Because of past donations, the Global Compassion Fund is able to respond quickly in times of great need. Distributions are facilitated by brothers and sisters who live on-location and have capacity to reach their communities. To support future relief efforts around the world, donate to the Global Compassion Fund.