With more than 8,225 cases and 403 deaths, Ecuador is one of the countries in Latin America most affected by the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
The number of coronavirus-related deaths in the country has drastically surged in recent weeks. As a result, Ecuador’s health care system is struggling to keep up and many families are suffering.
In response to the pandemic, the nonprofit Kahre Org, a sub-section of the Karla Morales Foundation, is providing health care workers and families across Ecuador with access to food and medical supplies.
The organization is known for helping local communities improve access to education, housing, food, clean drinking water, and legal services.
Global Citizen spoke to Domenica Cobo Flandoli, a Kahre Org volunteer team member, about how the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic is impacting her organization’s work and community outreach.
What does KAHRE ORG do?
We believe that teamwork can achieve extraordinary things and common goals for our community.
Our mission is to develop initiatives that guarantee the resilience of communities with an emphasis on the most vulnerable groups and to inspire collective action.
We work with storytelling as a resource to create a real and urgent action, which is based on volunteers' efforts and brands committed to guaranteeing safety, no hunger, education, and sustainability.
How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted your work and outreach?
Several months before, when we found out about the situation in Asia and Europe, we began to prepare our response teams and develop technological solutions that would guarantee food safety for the most vulnerable communities and citizens in Ecuador.
We already have a children food program that provides more than two meals per day for 100 kids in a door-to-door project, providing not just hunger security, but also sustainable work.
What is your organization doing to help local communities in response to the pandemic?
We have been able to impact hundreds of doctors, official corps, the Red Cross, thousands of families in need, and deliver more 100,000 meal kits all over Ecuador, North and South, from the Galapagos Islands to the Amazon Rainforest.
We are working day and night to support those who are on the frontlines of this battle, in every city and province, all over Ecuador.
How can the international community help support your efforts?
Spread the word, get involved, take action, and help us out.
The international community can help us through our website www.karlamorales.org by donating directly so that we can continue our relief efforts.
Is there anything that gives you hope?
We believe it's a true privilege to see happiness in this moment. That's what we feel when we see happy children that … get sweet dreams because they sleep without hunger, or doctors and the elderly, who feel less alone in the fight against COVID-19 because we are there for them. It is a battle that we must fight together, keeping kindness alive every minute.
But especially, we confirm every single day that a generous heart is always beating when we see someone who needs help.
Together, we become an amazing group of people. It doesn't matter what city you come from, because every single person that gets together in this enormous chain is necessary to get to every corner of our country.
If we want to see countries and the United Nations working together, this is the precise moment to prove that we are capable of doing that and more. For a noble and caring heart, there's always a chance to help.
