In a time when fear and widespread panic are rampant, what does it look like to respond in faith in the midst of this crisis? How can we respond in love for our neighbors both practically and theologically?
“The pandemic will hit the most vulnerable people hardest, many of them living in urban slums and informal settlements.” -UN Habitat
Join Urban Mosaic as we respond alongside our local leaders, churches and community members, applying the knowledge, lessons learned, and expertise for such a time as this.
How has Urban Mosaic responded so far?
FOOD
FOOD:
Distributed 229 food baskets to local leaders and pastors to offset their lost income due to the pandemic.
PREVENTION
PREVENTION CAMPAIGN:
20,000 PEOPLE
We helped 62 churches and 82+ community groups prepare for the pandemic and reached 20,000 people with information to help raise awareness.
WATER
WATER:
101 WATER TANKS
25,250 PEOPLE
We installed 101 water tanks and hand washing stations to help 25,250 people practice virus prevention by washing their hands.
SHALOM GROUPS
SHALOM GROUPS:
1,500 PEOPLE
We helped launch 175 Shalom Groups with over 1,500 participants studying the 26 values to build a Shalom culture.
91x91 PRAYER CAMPAIGN
91x91 PRAYER CAMPAIGN:
28 ORGANIZATIONS
7 COUNTRIES
We mobilized 28 organizations and HUNDREDS of churches from 7 countries to join the 91x91 intercession campaign.
HEALTH CARE
HEALTH CARE:
6 HEALTH CENTERS
9,100 PEOPLE
We donated personal protection equipment (PPE), including 400 high security masks, 8,000 face masks, 35 liters of surface disinfectant and 500 liters of antibacterial gel to six hospitals and health centers in our region.
FOOD SECURITY
FOOD SECURITY:
We will work with up to 500 leaders to launch projects for sustainable food sources:
1. Rabbits
2. Laying hens
3. Home vegetable gardens
4. Communal Chicken Farm for eggs
5. Fish hatchery
1. Rabbits
2. Laying hens
3. Home vegetable gardens
4. Communal Chicken Farm for eggs
5. Fish hatchery
KIDS & YOUTH
KIDS & YOUTH:
We will launch kids clubs (with social distancing measures in place) and relaunch youth work in the fall as schools begin.
ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE
ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE
1. Outfitting Urban Mosaic's community center to provide basic medical attention
2. Purchase of basic medications
3. Equip Mobile Unit with a doctor and nurse to serve up to 2,000 patients.
4. Hire 100 COVID Health Monitors to help with contact tracing.
2. Purchase of basic medications
3. Equip Mobile Unit with a doctor and nurse to serve up to 2,000 patients.
4. Hire 100 COVID Health Monitors to help with contact tracing.
MICRO-BUSINESSES
MICRO-BUSINESSES
We are crafting business plans to launch a minimum of 50 micro-businesses in phase 4 to reactivate the local economy.
The first two phases of the project cost $75,000, and we expect the costs for the longer Phases 3 and 4 to total $285,000 USD. In order to launch key initiatives in Phase 3 and 4.
Learn more about our work by downloading the full COVID-19 Response proposal below.
What we’ve done in Phase 1 of the Pandemic
Over the past weeks we have worked hard to prepare ourselves and develop a preventative response.
-We formed people into small organized units, including in virtual form using WhatsApp, via our health clubs, youth clubs, citizen committees and faith communities.
-Together we handed out close to 20,000 flyers and 11,000 soaps, directly speaking to over 3,000 families, encouraging people to take COVID-19 seriously, and identifying homes with people with preexisting conditions and older than 65.
-We ran short workshops for kids, youth and mothers, in the streets of our communities, in small groups of 10 or less, with all protective measures that the WHO recommended for phase 1 (workshops ended as soon as we entered phase 2).
-We equipped a total of 62 churches (between Mexico and Colombia), to make a transition from public services to start small home groups and home churches.
-As of now a total of 181 “Shalom Groups” have already been established, with a total of 2,000 participants.
-Finally, dozens of pastors/community leaders have already shown signs of severe economic distress, which has compelled to give away food baskets to 100 distressed leaders and pastors for one month.
What we’ve been doing in Phase 2 of the Pandemic
We recognize the impact of this pandemic will affect people’s health, economy, social interactions, and spiritual connections and so our response must be holistic. As an initial response, we are seeking to raise $158,000 USD to continue our work in the following areas:
Access to Water - $16,000 USD
We have installed 100 large water tanks and hand-washing stations which will help 7,500 vulnerable families have access to water for hand-washing and basic personal hygiene.
Increasing Food Security - $62,500 USD
The economic impact of the pandemic will be devastating for many residents, including our community leaders, who will or are already losing work, and many church pastors who are already having a hard time receiving tithes and offerings. To mitigate this devastating impact for leaders who have demonstrated their commitment to their communities, we hope to distribute for the first 2-3 months monthly food baskets to 250 community leaders and their families. In May, we will support an additional 325 leaders with a variety of productive units (laying hens, rabbits, vegetable garden, etc.) which will be fully producing two-three months from now. Once the laying hens, rabbit units, chicken farms, community gardens, fish hatchery and farmland start producing, we expect that up to 500 leaders and their families in our network will benefit within three months.
Access to Health Care - $16,500 USD
In the last week, we donated personal protection equipment (400 high security masks and 8,000 face masks), surface disinfectant (35 liters) and antibacterial gel (500 liters) to six hospitals, health centers and communities in the eastern region of Mexico City, which had received almost no protective materials from the government. In addition, our small health center in one of our communities is the only health care provider in an area of over 15,000 people. While we will not be able to provide extensive health care during the upcoming health crisis, we are working very hard to complete construction of our fairly large community/health center (putting in windows, doors, indoor plumbing, toilets etc.). to offer it during the contingency as a possible shelter alternative or community health center. We are in the process of stocking the community/health center with basic medicines and prevention supplies, in order to attend to our vulnerable population when needed.
Video Production and Online Platform for "Houses of Peace", Health Clubs and Citizen Committees - $3,000 USD
In this difficult time, we need to provide hope-filled leadership and messaging, based in sound theology, to the churches we serve in Mexico and Colombia. We will develop an online platform where our 60+ local churches and partners can access practical multimedia and written content that will teach them how to develop a “culture of Shalom”, based in the love of God, love of others, love of self. Through this online platform, we’ve also launched a prayer campaign, where by now 25 organizations from 7 countries with over 400 churches are actively participating to pray Psalm 91 during 91 days.
What will be doing in Phase 3 of the Pandemic
We recognize the impact of this pandemic will affect people’s health, economy, social interactions, and spiritual connections and so our response must be holistic. As an initial response, we are seeking to raise $150,000 USD to work in the following areas: