COVID-19 Crisis Relief Food Hampers

An update on how funds are being spent from namrunsnam donations.

Due to COVID-19, my chosen charities are now facing even more difficulties than usual. Due to lack of work because of lock down or loss of jobs, many families are struggling to make ends meet. The Friends For Street Children Association (FFSC) provides free education to 280 disadvantaged children, many of whom are displaced having migrated to Ho Chi Minh City from rural provinces. The majority live in a ‘not entirely legal’ slum settlement which can be found on the banks of the District 8, canal, in HCMC, in shacks built from discarded materials.

As schools closed and social distancing restrictions were imposed, these children were prevented from visiting the centres each day and were forced to remain in their shanty homes where their parents struggled to maintain a basic hand to mouth existence. Social workers from the centre reported that many of the children were facing dire conditions, with parents away for longer and longer periods during the day and food supplies very, very low. Whereas before these children were guaranteed one hot meal a day at the centre, this was no longer available to them.

With funds from namrunsnam, we have provided crisis relief food hampers for the children and their families. This small gesture will relieve some of the burden and stress caused by this pandemic.