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Gambia
02-04-2020 | di COOPI
Covid-19. In Gambia, awareness-raising and prevention for the beneficiaries
On the 27th of March, the Republic of Gambia declared the state of emergency due to coronavirus. The government closed all non-essential shops and public places of worship, reduced the number of passengers in public transportation and limited to a maximum of 10 people the number of persons allowed to attend any social gathering. On the same day, COOPI, to answer to the pandemic emergency, started a series of awareness-raising and prevention activities addressing beneficiaries of the project “Enhancing Youth Employability in The Gambia”, started in September 2019 and funded by the Belgian Cooperation (ENABEL).
120 prevention kits were prepared based on the Gambian context. These include flyers, handbooks, antibacterial soap, sanitizer, a cup for personal use, 5 masks and a tote bag to transport the material to the workplace. During the activities of the 27th and 28th of March, COOPI staff explained all the safeguard measures to apply, showing how to properly wear a mask and how to wash hands. 68 kits were distributed to participants, who were interested and satisfied. All the other kits will be distributed if any other ‘cash-for-work’ activity will take place, in order to protect new beneficiaries as well. Our staff highlighted the importance of sharing messages, safeguard measures and the material received with family and friends so to spread the message as much as possible.
Kit distribution
COOPI printed 400 flyers, wrote them in two of the most spoken local languages (Mandinka and Wolof) and translated them into English as well. 200 flyers show the hygienic standards dealt by the World Health Organization (WHO) while other 200 show a handbook of 9 prevention rules based on WHO global guidelines and adapted to the local context. Norms go from the most basic ones such as wash hands regularly to more specific and contextualized ones like not sharing the prayer mat or not sharing the plate or the glass (a very common way of doing in Gambia).
In Gambia, COOPI activities continue in smart working mode while activities on the field are reduced.
Staff explaining the kit's content
Photo credits: Mark Hollings