iACT provides humanitarian action to aid, empower, and extend hope to those affected by mass atrocities. Their Little Ripples Program was selected in the HundrED 2020 Global Collection, for their incredibly inspiring work as a refugee- and community-led early childhood education program incorporating play-based learning, peace-building, and mindfulness.
We reached out to Katie-Jay Scott, the Executive Director of iACT to explore how their refugee and displaced communities are coping with the pandemic.
"From fifteen years of working next to refugees, we are in awe and appreciation of our community's strength, experience, skills, and leadership. We have been in touch with many of our community leaders around the world, and appreciate how ready they are to take on the challenge of protecting their families. We are working with our leaders to mobilize communities, are constantly communicating with the organizations already working in our camps or sites and are collaborating closely."
With refugee and displaced community leaders living in Chad, Tanzania, Cameroon, and Greece and experts in public health, epidemiology, and community organizing, iAct has co-created a deck of resources to help children and families navigate the current climate:
Coronavirus (Covid19/2019-nCoV) Facts and Precautions is a packet of information that includes what COVID-19 is, precautions, myths vs facts, mindfulness exercises, and handwashing instructions.
Coronavirus One-Pager/Poster offers details on symptoms as well as protection measures that refugee and displaced families can take.
Coronavirus Parent-Caregiver One-Pager includes activities and suggestions on how to work with children during this uncertain time.
Coronavirus Community Leader One-Pager is a resource for grassroots leaders to stay healthy as they continue to organize and respond on behalf of their communities
Coronavirus Facts vs. Myths clarifies information about the virus and current climate with a hope to dispel misinformation and rumors within the communities.
These resources are available in 10 languages: English, French, Farsi, Arabic, Swahili, Kirundi, Sorani, Kurmanji, Burmese, and Karen (some resources are still being translated). They are available in Google Drive. They are available for wide distribution and we've included word documents so groups and communities can edit and adapt them to their local context or group. Community leaders have said that .jpg form is the easiest for sharing with their networks, so this format is also included.
As a leader, if you would like to be involved in this response, please email the HundrED Team and we will be happy to connect you with iAct COVID Response team.
We thank leaders like Katie-Jay and iAct for providing relief, resources and support to teachers, families and community leaders in these trying times. For more articles, innovative solutions & resources, head to our Coronavirus Toolkit especially designed to support educators & parents during this COVID-19 outbreak.
