The previous months have put under pressure our community engagement. NGOs closed their centers and hubs; volunteers had to put on hold all planned activities, with a risk to loosen the connection with the beneficiaries we work with.
Despite that, two years and a half after its launch, The Human Safety Net response to the crisis demonstrated our long-term commitment to supporting NGOs partners, families, children, and refugees of our programs.
The meaning of being a “net” revealed its power: we activated the global community of NGOs to help each other to design and enable new approaches to keep their programs active. We transformed the community of volunteers into digital volunteers to pursue their mission. We deployed extraordinary Covid-19 Grants to answer immediate needs and build digital capabilities for the future.
In such a special moment, the publication of the first The Human Safety Net Activity Report is an important milestone in our journey, sharing what we have accomplished, achieved, and learned along the way.
More than ever, we are #THSNinAction!
June
The First Activity Report of The Human Safety Net
Over the past two years, The Human Safety Net has been set-up and run much like a social start-up, powered by the hard work, passion and commitment of colleagues and partners around the world.
We are a global movement of people helping people. The stories of families, refugees and engaged volunteers will inspire you. Find out what we have achieved and learned, all together, along the way.
Facing Covid-19 on families and refugees
In the early moments of the Covid-19 emergency, The Human Safety Net immediately started several initiatives, totalling over € 1 million, to ensure the continuity of programs, reduce the digital gap of families and refugees and support the digital transformation of NGO partners.
Countries initiatives for immediate help
Almost all countries activated many initiatives to face the urgent needs of NGOs, families, children, and refugees who are part of our programs. Here are some of them, browse the gallery to discover all.
In France, Italy, Slovakia, and Slovenia, hundreds of tablets and PCs were delivered to vulnerable families to ensure children can follow the online lessons from their school. Slovakia colleagues started a collection of not used but functioning smartphones and distributed to families who need them.
Food and healthy kits: for many vulnerable families, the lockdown has caused the immediate loss of precarious jobs. So Spain initiated a national fundraising campaign to supply food to 80 families. In Argentina management team and employees started fundraising to donate “food and hygiene kits’: with the amount matched by La Caja, 600 kits were delivered. Indonesia distributed masks and three Portable Hand Washing systems to their NGO partner, financed partially by employees and agents. Malaysia employees volunteered to distribute food packages to families that have lost their income.
Support to families and medical staff in our Hospital Partners: Hungary opened a free mental care helpline for medical professionals. Eszter, an active agent ambassador, took a personal initiative to offer a “caring” moment to nurses and doctors at the Neonatal Intensive Care Department. In the Czech Republic, healthy packs were distributed to families with preterm children, and nurses could benefit from special “care.” Both activities were financed by employees’ donations and matched by Generali CEE Holding. Poland supported the delivery of medical materials to the Poznan hospital.
In Germany and France, financial support has been granted to refugees’ young start-ups to secure entrepreneurs’ newly launched business during the crisis and avoid they fall back.
Special COVID-19 grants to support the digital transformation of NGO programs
On top of these local initiatives, The Human Safety Net offered immediate help to partner NGOs with additional Covid-19 grants. 17 NGOs received special grants to support the digital transformation of their programs. This immediately allowed the continuity of NGO activities and contact with families and refugees they help (e.g. tablets and internet-connected devices) as well as builds long-term, sustainable digital infrastructure (e.g. fully virtual operating platforms and solutions), available to the entire community of partners.
Discover how our partners are reacting to the Covid-19
Digital volunteering: a new way to volunteer
Digital volunteering became a new way to volunteer. Coach and Mentors for refugees in Germany, France, and Switzerland deployed a new digital approach to deliver online training and coaching sessions. In Austria, digital mentorship became a reality to support our skilled volunteering program FAME. Counseling with parents via phone and a wide variety of means to stay in touch with families and kids have been activated in many countries, using WhatsApp, quiz, activities to do with kids at home, family challenges.
In France, Argentina, Serbia, Indonesia, and Germany, employees, and agents started to produce videos to build a global library of meaningful activities for families and children (e.g., reading books, healthy cooking, DIY, dancing). NGOs can use the content and propose it to families to keep contact with them and maintain part of the programs active.
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Latest from THSN
Welcome to the THSN Family!
In Hong Kong, parents and children will benefit from a new THSN center promoting meaningful activities to support early childhood development, with One Sky as our partner for the Families program at GARO & HK Regional office. The kick-off meeting took place on June 15-16 in a blended virtual and in presence mode.
Awards to volunteering and refugee integration
The Human Safety Net local programs got public, albeit virtual, recognition. THSN team in Austria won a prize for their volunteering engagement program with THSN partner Big Brothers Big Sisters where employees are trained and become mentors to children.
In March, our German Refugee Start-Up program with Social Impact Lab won a prize at the German Demography Award Ceremony in the ‘Successful Integration’ category.
#buildingthehome in Venice
‘You should let everyone appreciate a piece of art, without altering it.’ Discover the stories of the restorers working at the Procuratie Vecchie in Venice, future home of The Human Safety Net due to open at the end of 2021.
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