All this month, Teddy and I have been connecting with our global partners to hear how the global pandemic is affecting them. All of them have been grateful for our initiative to meet with them and let them know they are not forgotten. We prayed with them. We sent second quarter support checks last week. They were so encouraged, but also glad that we are well! They all know the United States has many cases of covid19 and they are concerned for all of us, praying for us. They model a reciprocal partnership.
FOOD
One of the common themes on many of our calls was that of food. Just as millions of Americans are needing help with food, several of our global partners are now involved in providing relief food for the poor and out-of-work. These are the countries where our trusted global partners are working together with local government officials
Kenya – 15,000 families are
being helped by Missions of Hope/CMF
India – 10,000 families will be helped by ASSI/CMF
Panama – Several families in Panama City and Chiriqui will be helped by Jose Rodriguez/Lifeline
Click either of these links if you would like to contribute personally to CMF or Lifeline
FOOD INSECURITY
Kenya – a plague of desert locusts has been affecting large parts of East Africa since mid-2019, well before the covid19 pandemic. Watch this to learn how Kenya and other countries in the region are also faced with “Locust-19”.
India – a bumper wheat crop was initially left in the fields when stay-at-home orders were issued by the government. This continues to be a concern, though a local article in India reports that harvest is now underway in some places.
HEALTHCARE RESOURCES
Another common theme faced by our global partners is lack of healthcare resources in-country to meet the expected demand for covid19 patients. One person said her country only had 60 ventilators. Several countries have the poor crowded in small areas that have very few medical options or water availability to wash hands. Rural areas have the space to keep physical distancing, but they too lack medical resources and water availability with the added challenge of poor transportation infrastructure for access.
According to India Express, the bed count for medical facilities in India is sobering:
WORKER HEALTHCARE
As far as we know, all of our global partners are able to access resources locally for their current health needs. None of our global partners have yet come to the USA because of covid19 in their country of service. Three of these couples are in the over 60 category, which is considered a higher risk group in case of infection. Please remember to pray for Bruce and Alice (Paraguay), Van and Jane (Indochina), Victor and Sulevi (India).
Our global partners truly share our common struggle as this is a global pandemic. We all have common ground on which to understand one another’s situation, and good insight on how to pray for each other. United under Christ, we face these times in faith and hope in our Lord.
Next week will be part 2 on other impacts of covid 19 with our global partnerships.
Dan
