Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update

As the impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) develops around the world, we are continuing to be proactive in ensuring protection for all Compassion staff, volunteers, partners and beneficiaries, and minimise disruption to critical operations and the children that we serve.

Compassion around the world

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, it feels like there is something new for each of us to adapt to every day. And Compassion’s frontline church partners across the globe are adapting too.

During this pandemic we’re making some temporary changes to how your donations are used and distributed; this means we can respond with context-specific solutions.

Compassion is empowering local churches to redeploy sponsorship funds that are ordinarily used for group activities at the local church, so they can meet urgent and critical needs of families with children and youth registered in the programme. This includes necessities such as food, clean water, shelter, clothing, household items, and even medical care and trauma counselling.

Please take a few moments to watch this video from Sydney Muisyo, Compassion’s Head of Global Programme to hear more about what this change looks like and how our incredible church partners are adapting.

You can also read more about how Compassion is supporting children at this time on our blog COVID-19 and your sponsored child: Your 10 questions answered.

We have now seen confirmed cases of COVID-19 in several of our field countries among Compassion-supported children, their caregivers or family members, or staff of our partner churches. To protect the privacy and dignity of the children and their families, we won’t be providing specific information here about their health status, but a general update on confirmed cases is included in the entry below for each country.

Below, you can find the most up-to-date reports from our field countries, and how local guidelines are affecting Compassion’s programming. Please continue to check this page for further updates.

• Bangladesh

  Projects offering limited programme activity

  There has been a confirmed case of COVID-19 among sponsored children’s family members. Our church partners are complying with a nationwide lockdown currently in effect until 30 May. All activities taking place at Compassion projects are on hold, your letters are being temporarily held at our National Office, and your gifts may take longer than usual to deliver. Staff and volunteers at our partner churches are keeping in touch with children and their families by phone, providing hygiene advice and other support as needed. Maternity care is being prioritised, and regular health check-ups are continuing for pregnant mothers. Churches are delivering food packages to children and their families.

• Bolivia

  Projects offering limited programme activity

  There have been confirmed cases of COVID-19 among sponsored children, their family members, and staff of our partner churches. The nationwide quarantine ended on 10 May, but is being maintained on a province-by-province basis according to local needs. Citizens are required to stay in their homes and allowed out once a week according to their national ID number to buy food. All group activities at Compassion projects are on hold, your letters are being temporarily held at our National Office, and your gifts may take longer than usual to deliver. The quarantine rules include some leeway for those working with vulnerable people, so our church partners have been able to provide food and hygiene supplies to children and their families, and more than 77% of families received food support during April. Our staff and volunteers are keeping in touch with children and their families by phone and WhatsApp to check their wellbeing, encourage them, and pray with them, as well as providing guidance on hygiene and disease prevention. Our church partners have started implementing youth programming through Facebook Live.

• Brazil

  Projects offering limited programme activity

  There have been confirmed cases of COVID-19 among sponsored children and their family members. A lockdown is in effect until 20 May closing all businesses with the exception of supermarkets, pharmacies, and healthcare. Schools and churches are closed until 30 May. Local authorities in some regions are imposing stricter local quarantines. All group activities at Compassion projects are on hold, and your letters and gifts may take longer than usual to deliver. Our church partners are working on emergency plans and providing food and hygiene resources, including alcohol hand gel, to children and their families. Our staff and volunteers are keeping in touch with children and their families by phone and social media to provide reassurance, health information, emotional care, and Bible stories and prayer. Some church partners have been able to deliver recordings of the Compassion curriculum using WhatsApp.

• Burkina Faso

  Projects offering limited programme activity

  There have been confirmed cases of COVID-19 among staff of our partner churches. As of 4 May, the government have announced a gradual lifting of lockdown measures. Churches have begun to reopen from 10 May. Schools are expected to begin reopening from 1 June. The use of face masks remains compulsory. All large group activities at Compassion projects are on hold, so your letters and gifts may take longer than usual to deliver, but other activities including limited individual home visits, child protection oversight, and health support are continuing. Staff and volunteers are distributing food, soap, face masks and hand sanitisers.

• Colombia

  Projects closed owing to government restrictions

  There have been confirmed cases of COVID-19 among sponsored children and their family members. Our church partners are complying with a nationwide quarantine currently in effect until 31 May, along with school closures until further notice. All group activities at Compassion projects are on hold, your letters are being temporarily held at our National Office, and your gifts may take longer than usual to deliver. Our church partners remain in contact with children and their families and are providing spiritual and emotional support, food parcels, hygiene advice, as well as sharing activity packs for the children to do at home. Staff are also helping families access financial support from the government. Our projects are carrying out COVID-19 awareness campaigns in their local communities through videos, leaflets, and public billboards, and most have been able to produce video content led by project tutors including lessons, devotions, and sports activities.

• Dominican Republic

  Projects offering limited programme activity

  There have been confirmed cases of COVID-19 among sponsored children, their family members, and staff of our partner churches. The government of the Dominican Republic has instituted a nationwide quarantine, currently in effect until at least 2 June. There is a curfew from 7pm to 5am Monday-Saturday and 5pm to 5am on Sunday, and only basic services remain open (including supermarkets, pharmacies, and hospitals). All group activities at Compassion projects are on hold, your letters are being temporarily held at our National Office, and your gifts may take longer than usual to deliver. Staff and volunteers at our partner churches are keeping in touch with children and their families by phone to provide support. Teachers are sharing classes adapted from the Compassion curriculum over WhatsApp and Zoom, providing hygiene information and disease prevention guidance, and meeting virtually with families to pray together and share the gospel. Many of our church partners have supply agreements with local service providers such as markets and pharmacies, and have been able to use these connections to provide support to families.

• Ecuador

  Projects offering limited programme activity

  There have been confirmed cases of COVID-19 among sponsored children, their family members, and staff of our partner churches. The nationwide quarantine ended on 4 May, but is being maintained on a province-by-province basis according to local circumstances. As of 15 May, the majority of provinces remain in full lockdown. All group activities at Compassion projects are on hold, your letters are being temporarily held at our National Office, and your gifts may take longer than usual to deliver. Staff and volunteers at our partner churches are keeping in touch with children and their families by phone and WhatsApp to provide emotional and spiritual support. Our church partners are delivering food packages, hygiene kits, and sanitation and disease prevention guidance.

• El Salvador

  Projects offering limited programme activity

  There have been confirmed cases of COVID-19 among sponsored children and their family members. The government of El Salvador has instituted a nationwide lockdown, currently in effect until 21 May. Schools activities have been suspended, travel is restricted, and gatherings are prohibited. All group activities at Compassion projects are on hold, your letters are being temporarily held at our National Office, and your gifts may take longer than usual to deliver. Our church partners are producing and sharing educational and worship materials so that children can continue learning from home. Staff and volunteers are keeping in touch by phone to provide pastoral support, as well as visiting vulnerable families at home to provide food and healthcare, including supplying hand sanitiser and face masks in some cases. Our Child Survival Intervention programmes are providing digital materials on the prevention of infection diseases.

• Ethiopia

  Projects offering limited programme activity

  There have been confirmed cases of COVID-19 among sponsored children’s family members. The government of Ethiopia has put preventative measures in place such as the banning of large gatherings including religious services, limitations on travel, and the closure of schools. All group activities at Compassion projects are on hold, and your letters and gifts may take longer than usual to deliver. Staff and volunteers at our partner churches are keeping in touch with children and their families by phone. They are providing guidance on disease prevention, delivering hygiene and sanitation materials, distributing food supplies, and supporting the provision of medical care. Many of our church partners have been able to keep good hand-washing facilities available to the community.

• Ghana

  Projects offering limited programme activity

  There has been a confirmed case of COVID-19 among sponsored children’s family members. The government of Ghana has begun to partially lift the nationwide lockdown, but public gatherings remain suspended. All group activities at Compassion projects are on hold, your letters are being temporarily held at our National Office, and your gifts may take longer than usual to deliver. Staff and volunteers are keeping in touch with children and their families by phone, social media, and WhatsApp, and some of our church partners have been able to restart limited home visits. Our projects are providing emergency healthcare, child protection oversight, and responding to critical needs of children and their families as needed, as well as sharing hygiene and disease prevention guidance. Our church partners in the lockdown areas are supporting beneficiaries and their families with food packages. Support is continuing for mothers and babies in our Child Survival Intervention programme, including regular immunisations and food packages. Some of our church partners have been able to deliver Compassion’s youth curriculum online.

• Guatemala

  Projects offering limited programme activity

  There have been confirmed cases of COVID-19 among sponsored children and their family members. The government of Guatemala has declared a State of Emergency. A curfew is in place from 5pm to 5am, public events and large gatherings have been banned, and schools and businesses are closed. All group activities at Compassion projects are on hold, your letters are being temporarily held at our National Office, and your gifts may take longer than usual to deliver. Staff and volunteers at our partner churches are keeping in touch with children and their families by phone, WhatsApp, and social media. Every project has made an evaluation of the individual needs of the families it serves and created a plan to support them, especially with distribution of food and hygiene products. During March 10,885 families received support in this way.

• Haiti

  Projects offering limited programme activity

  There have been confirmed cases of COVID-19 among sponsored children’s family members and staff of our partner churches. The government of Haiti have put preventative measures in place including the closure of schools, places of worship, and industrial areas. All group activities at Compassion projects are on hold, and your letters and gifts may take longer than usual to deliver. In accordance with government guidance, we have suspended visits to children’s homes, but our church partner staff and volunteers are keeping in touch with children and their families by phone and text message, and distributing food supplies to the most vulnerable. Hygiene kits have been distributed to all beneficiaries, and youth programming is being delivered over social media. Each church partner has activated its crisis response plan to monitor the situation in the community and address the critical needs of children and their families.

• Honduras

  Projects offering limited programme activity

  There have been confirmed cases of COVID-19 among sponsored children and their family members. Our church partners are complying with a nationwide quarantine currently in effect until 17 May. Public gatherings including religious events have been suspended, and most businesses are closed. All group activities at Compassion projects are on hold, and your letters and gifts may take longer than usual to deliver. Staff and volunteers at our partner churches are keeping in touch with children and their families by phone and WhatsApp, and sharing video messages to reinforce hygiene and disease prevention measures. Some projects are giving classes via Facebook Live. Our teams are distributing hygiene kits and delivering food to the most vulnerable families, particularly those that can no longer generate income owing to the quarantine. The government of Honduras has granted a safe conduct order to allow Compassion project staff to deliver supplies. Mothers and babies from our Child Survival Interventions are being supported with nappies, formula milk, and food packages.

• Indonesia

  Projects offering limited programme activity

  There have been confirmed cases of COVID-19 among sponsored children’s family members. Local authorities in Indonesia are managing the impact of COVID-19. Schools are closed until at least the end of May, and gatherings of more than 25 people have been banned. Lockdowns are in force in many areas with only limited permission to go out to buy food and medication. Group activities at nearly all Compassion projects are on hold, and your letters and gifts may take longer than usual to deliver. Staff and volunteers at our partner churches are maintaining contact with children through phone or social media, providing videos and flyers on disease prevention and hygiene as well as digital versions of the Compassion curriculum. Food packages are being delivered to the most vulnerable families. Home visits are continuing for Child Survival Intervention mothers and babies, and staff are distributing hygiene kits, vitamin supplements, and meal kits.

• Kenya

  Projects offering limited programme activity

  There has been a confirmed case of COVID-19 among sponsored children’s family members. The government of Kenya has put in place restrictions to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, including the banning of public gatherings, the indefinite closure of schools and educational establishments, and limitations on travel. A curfew is in effect from 7pm to 5am. All group activities at Compassion projects are on hold, and your letters and gifts may take longer than usual to deliver. Our National Office is providing our church partners with information about disease prevention and how to respond if children are affected by COVID-19 which is being passed on to children, youth, and their families. Staff and volunteers at our partner churches are continuing child protection oversight, health care support, and non-group activities as needed. In Kenya, the government have requested for security reasons that all non-financial donations, including food and hygiene support, are provided through the government’s centralised COVID-19 Response Fund. Compassion Kenya are therefore supporting children’s families with direct transfers of funds to buy food and medical supplies. We are transferring funds using the M-Pesa app for safety of distribution and so that there are clear records.

• Mexico

  Projects offering limited programme activity

  There have been confirmed cases of COVID-19 among sponsored children and their family members. The government of Mexico has declared a Health Emergency. Public gatherings are forbidden and theatres, cinemas, places of worship, and schools are closed currently until 30 May. All group activities at Compassion projects are on hold, and your letters and gifts may take longer than usual to deliver. Our church partners are distributing food to the most vulnerable children. Our National Office has distributed shareable information about disease prevention. Some tutors have been able to prepare recorded content so that children can continue learning from home.

• Nicaragua

  Projects offering limited programme activity

  There have been suspected cases of COVID-19 among sponsored children, their family members, and staff of our partner churches, but no confirmed diagnoses. All group activities at Compassion projects are on hold, your letters are being temporarily held at our National Office, and your gifts may take longer than usual to deliver. Staff and volunteers at our partner churches are keeping in touch with children and their families by phone or social media to provide emotional and spiritual support. We are continuing to monitor the health and nutrition needs of the children, distributing hygiene kits and disease prevention guidance, and delivering food packages to the most vulnerable families. During April 24,757 food packs were delivered. Some church partners are sharing educational or devotional content over WhatsApp and YouTube, with the support of our National Office. Staff are responding to children’s health issues as needed.

• Peru

  Projects offering limited programme activity

  There have been confirmed cases of COVID-19 among sponsored children and their family members. The government of Peru has instituted a nationwide lockdown currently in effect until May, with school and university classes taking place online until 2021. All group activities at Compassion projects are on hold, your letters are being temporarily held at our National Office, and your gifts may take longer than usual to deliver. Staff and volunteers at our partner churches are keeping in touch with children and their families by phone and social media. They are providing counselling to parents and beneficiaries, sharing messages of encouragement, and distributing hygiene kits and food packages. Pastors are carrying out spiritual activity including prayer and preaching online.

• Philippines

  Projects offering limited programme activity

  There have been confirmed cases of COVID-19 among sponsored children, their family members, and the staff of our partner churches. Quarantine rules have now been partially relaxed in several lower-risk provinces, but mass gatherings continue to be prohibited. In Metro Manila, and Cebu, a full quarantine will remain in effect until 31 May. Schools have been closed until the end of August. All group activities at Compassion projects are on hold, and your letters and gifts may take longer than usual to deliver. Staff and volunteers at our partner churches are monitoring the health and wellbeing of children and their families, and providing relief goods to families including food and medical supplies. Some churches are holding online worship services. Children have been provided with educational materials and colouring books, and artwork by the children has been sent to frontline medical staff to encourage them!

• Rwanda

  Projects offering limited programme activity

  The government of Rwanda has begun relaxing lockdown restrictions on essential services from 4 May. Social distancing and the wearing of masks remain compulsory, travel continues to be restricted, and churches remain closed. Schools will be closed until September. All group activities at Compassion projects are on hold, and your letters and gifts may take longer than usual to deliver. Staff and volunteers at our church partners are keeping in touch with children and their families by phone and WhatsApp to monitor their health and wellbeing, and are providing food and nutritional support, prioritising the most vulnerable families.

• Sri Lanka

  Projects offering limited programme activity

  The government of Sri Lanka has announced that quarantine restrictions on essential services will begin to be relaxed from 11 May. People will be allowed to leave their homes only to travel to work and purchase essential items such as food and medicines. Curfews remain in effect until further notice in some parts of the country. All group activities at Compassion projects are on hold, your letters are being temporarily held at our National Office, and your gifts may take longer than usual to deliver. Staff and volunteers at our partner churches are keeping in touch with children and their families by phone twice a week to monitor their wellbeing and encourage them to follow health guidelines, and are distributing dry food packs with the support of local police. We are also distributing packets of seeds so that families can start growing food at home. In some lower-risk areas, home visits for pregnant mothers in our Child Survival programme have now resumed. Staff are providing additional education sessions to caregivers focused on stress management, emotion management, and micro-finance. Two of our church partners have been able to work with the local government to produce face masks.

• Tanzania

  Projects offering limited programme activity

  Schools, colleges, and universities in Tanzania are closed and public gatherings are banned. All group activities at Compassion projects are on hold, your letters are being temporarily held at our National Office, and your gifts may take longer than usual to deliver. Our frontline church partners are continuing to provide individual care to children and their families as needed by phone or minimal home visits, in particular medical attention and child protection oversight.

• Thailand

  Projects closed owing to government restrictions

  The Thai government has declared a State of Emergency. A curfew is in effect from 11pm to 4am, transport routes are closed off, and businesses including shopping malls and restaurants are closed. All group activities at Compassion projects are on hold, and your letters and gifts may take longer than usual to deliver. Staff and volunteers at our partner churches are keeping in touch with children and their families by phone, and are distributing soap, sanitiser gels, and face masks in some areas. Families are receiving disease prevention guidance as well as online learning activities and devotional materials.

• Togo

  Projects offering limited programme activity

  The government of Togo has taken preventative measures against the spread of the virus. Gatherings of more than 15 people are banned, travel is limited with borders closed, and schools have been closed. Major cities including Lomé are in lockdown, and a nationwide curfew is in effect from 8pm to 6am. All group activities at Compassion projects are on hold, and your letters and gifts may take longer than usual to deliver. Staff and volunteers at our partner churches are providing information to children and their families about hygiene and disease prevention as well as distributing food packages to the most vulnerable. Individual home visits are continuing for Child Survival Intervention mothers and babies, and some projects are meeting in small groups. Many churches are providing hand-washing facilities to the community.

• Uganda

  Projects offering limited programme activity

  Our church partners are complying with a strict nationwide lockdown currently in effect until 26 May, with schools, churches, and businesses closed except for essential services such as hospitals and food suppliers, and all non-governmental travel forbidden. All group activities at Compassion projects are on hold, and your letters and gifts may take longer than usual to deliver. Staff and volunteers at our partner churches are supporting children and their families with medical needs as well as distributing food packages to the most vulnerable.

Compassion UK

In line with government advice and updates from Public Health England all international travel is currently suspended and most of our UK team are now working from home. We remain committed to serving our supporters with excellence and are doing all we can to minimise any impact on the service you receive from Compassion UK.

We’re still open for phone, email, and chat and our friendly team are available for your queries or if you’d like someone to pray with at this time, with the following changes to normal service:

• As we have fewer staff available to serve you, we’ve reduced our opening hours to 9:30am-5pm, Monday-Friday. Please do leave us a voicemail if you need a call back outside these hours.
• As we have reduced capacity to open post, we ask that you write to your sponsored children through myCompassion or the Compassion App for the moment.

Thank you for your patience at this complex time.

Please join us in continuing to pray for protection for those affected and wisdom for those making decisions – our governments and health experts around the world - as they look to contain the spread of this virus. For more prayer points please visit our prayer page.

ARTICLE TAGS:
Child sponsorship programme, Covid-19 News, Prayer