A Time for Celebration – An Update on the Soap for Hope Project

Dear friends,

As the pandemic exposes the world’s inequalities for what they are, I’m here to report about people that are working together for change.

Starting in April 2020, I partnered with two organizations to help supply coronavirus-related protection and training to refugees in Kiryandongo Urban Refugee Settlement in Uganda. The organizations are Dream Production, an organization led by refugee youth in Uganda, and Friends of the Third World, a well-rooted nonprofit in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Thank you so much to my generous friends, colleagues, and musical supporters. We raised $2000 as of early this past fall. (We met our Phase I goal.)

Dream Production, headed by refugee youth, delivered on its aims, including:

• Delivering supplies & training. They procured and delivered kits containing sanitizers, soaps, masks, and pairs of gloves to 100 especially high-risk refugee elders, along with COVID-related psychosocial support benefiting 400 elders, COVID-related sanitation training indirectly benefiting 250 children living in these elders’ households, and mental health referrals benefiting 946 refugee elders.
• Demonstrating intergenerational care. The project was led by younger refugee people taking care of older refugee people at high risk – wonderful love.
• Strengthening aid networks. Dream Production typically uses arts to strengthen young refugee leadership toward development goals. In this project, its young refugee leaders have networked extensively (with the Ugandan Office of the Prime Minister, Danish Refugee Council, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Whitaker Peace and Development Initiative, and Water Mission), developing connections they can use to collaborate in the future.
• Including psychosocial support and arts-based education. Dream Production recognized that for extremely vulnerable people who struggle to access to hygiene supplies and experience limited freedom of movement and overall safety, hearing about the pandemic can damage mental health. Their programming included group psychosocial support and connection to mental health therapy support.

Dream Production documented their work and received this feedback: Those who received supplies and care expressed concern for those who have not. Phase 1 provided supplies for 100 of 1406 refugees identified as highly vulnerable in Kiryandongo Camp. We launch Phase 2 in Spring 2021, to bring coronavirus-related hygiene materials, support, and training to more high-risk refugees in Kiryandongo. YOU CAN DONATE TO PHASE 2 HERE! You can also write about the project (clairebatesmusic@gmail.com or givenwilson662@gmail.com).

Peace and care,

Claire

Soap for Hope youth refugee leaders collaborated, built partnerships, and prepared to deliver resources, training, and support.

Youth delivered soap, sanitizer, and reusable masks and gloves to especially vulnerable elderly refugees.

COVID hygiene training, psychosocial support, and psychosocial referrals were provided using youth talents in music and arts.

Soap for Hope connects the creativity and organizational drive of refugee youth with the generosity of caring people worldwide to save the lives of vulnerable refugee elders.

Please donate here to Phase 2 to help bring supplies to the remaining 1306 households in Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement identified as especially vulnerable to COVID-19!