Holocaust Liberation Celebration
Each year the Baltimore Jewish Council brings together Holocaust Survivors from across the region, along with hundreds of others in our community, to commemorate Yom HaShoah: “Even in the face of uncertain times we are committed to continuing this tradition as we mark the 75th anniversary of the liberation. This year we are joining together as a community for an online Yom HaShoah experience, as we collectively remember and honor all of those who were lost in the Holocaust and the brave liberators who freed so many across Eastern Europe.” Click the link to view the commemoration: https://youtu.be/AzV02MqNunA
Haiti
On April 7, 2020, the Department of Homeland Security deported 61 migrants to Haiti despite calls to delay this action. Haiti continues to struggle to rebuild and recover after the 2010 earthquake as well as the cholera epidemic. This beleaguered nation lacks an adequate health infrastructure to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Many people lack access to the most basic medical care, potable water and soap for hand washing. There is a severe risk that deported migrants will act as carriers of COVID-19 given the rapid spread of the virus in federal ICE detention facilities.
Please urge your representatives to stop deportations to Haiti during this pandemic. Those in the U.S., click here: https://www.votervoice.net/SSND/campaigns/73638/respond
SSND Partnership in Haiti
April 8, 2020
Dear Sisters, Associates and Staff,
As we all know, relationships are especially critical in times such as these. Our partnership with Beyond Borders and our growing relationship with the people of Haiti enable us to be in solidarity with our Haitian brothers and sisters as they prepare to meet the challenge of Covid-19. We have just received an update from Beyond Borders, concerning preparations for the impact of the virus on this vulnerable island nation. Please take a moment to read…
The Haiti Beyond Borders team continues to be in good spirits – clearly (and understandably) concerned for themselves, their families, colleagues and country. But they are also incredibly motivated to play an active role and do what they can to limit the spread and impact of this virus. We check in daily as an Emergency Management Team, but also daily with each member of the team to keep connected, keep morale up and remind them that we are in this together.
Our Regular Programming: With the number of cases growing and now in areas that our teams usually work, all physical activities in the field have been suspended.
Over the past several days a number of staff have been getting set up to use this time of physical distancing to work from home on important things that don’t require going out into communities or physical interaction with others, such as finishing up new training modules, creating new monitoring and evaluation tools, entering data from social mapping exercises carried out in communities to name just a few.
Only absolutely essential staff are coming to the offices on a rotation and as-needed basis. These are program leaders, and finance and logistics staff who are playing a critical role in our COVID-19 response efforts.
Supporting the Most Vulnerable: Communities we serve and those we work with are extremely vulnerable and in urgent need of supplies to help them protect themselves and their families from the virus.
In the immediate, we are putting together hygiene kits composed of buckets, soap and bleach, with informational brochures that will be distributed through our networks and with our partners in rural and urban communities, and in support of local government leadership.
We are mobilizing and supporting those in our networks who know how to sew to make artisanal facemasks that can be made available to the wider community.
Families living in extreme poverty are being hit even harder by the crisis as prices for basic food items and supplies skyrocket. We will be providing these families with additional cash subsidies to help keep food on the table.
Our COVID-19 communication team is working on critical messages to share as the risk for violence and exploitation of women and children - especially girls – increases significantly in times of crisis. These messages will be shared on community radio, on WhatsApp networks, by text messaging and other ways Haitians usually communicate.
Supporting Joint Response Efforts: We know that together we are stronger and so the team is working closely with local authorities, community-based organizations and other actors to coordinate response efforts in order to avoid duplication and make sure the most vulnerable receive help.
To stay in touch with developments in Haiti: we are invited to visit our newly created COVID-19 website at: https://donate.beyondborders.net/COVID-19 where you can also get the latest on the number of confirmed cases.
