It can be hard to navigate the burning Dumpster fires that light up your newsfeed. Every day you peel back a new layer of terrible that deserves more attention, more care, more consideration from the privileged few. You know you want to help out, but who to trust and where to turn? As always, we’ve got you. Here are three non-profit organisations in the field right now you should consider lending a hand (and sending some hard-earned coins to).
1. World Health Organization COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund
© Daniella Ritzau-Reid
WHY THE URGENCY?
Our world is battling a never-before seen crisis with COVID-19. As the pandemic affects communities globally, the need for an international response, led by the World Health Organization (WHO), is highly urgent.
WHERE DOES THE MONEY GO?
Donations support the WHO and its partners, helping to track and comprehend how COVID spreads, ensuring necessary medical care and giving frontline workers the supplies and information they need. It also helps speed up R&D of a possible vaccine and treatments. Partners of the WHO include UNICEF and its work on COVID-19 in vulnerable communities including children, and vaccine development alliance CEPI.
WHAT’S BEEN DONE SO FAR?
You can find an infographic recording the work of the WHO regarding the coronavirus here.
WHERE TO DONATE?
You can go here to donate.
For more local initiatives based in Belgium, please head to donorinfo.be for a list of transparent charity organisations working in several fields across the country. You can also directly support the King Baudoin Foundation, Street Nurses, Artsen Zonder Grenzen/Médecins du Monde and UNICEF Belgium for their COVID-19 efforts.
2. Refugees International
(c) Getty images
WHY THE URGENCY?
The amount of people worldwide forcibly displaced is still at the highest levels ever recorded. Mexico, Syria, South Sudan, Venezuela, Cameroon and so many more places around the globe are suffering and seeing its people leave in search of a future, As a reaction, more borders are closing, funding is halting and populist political rhetoric has continuously demonised and cast away the displaced. Refugees International is a US-based global non-profit focusing on a mission to advocate for the well-being of refugee communities. The most dire situations that need urgent attention, intervention and action by government officials, policymakers, and other international organisations are their priority.
WHERE DOES THE MONEY GO?
You can read the full financial report for 2018 here. The majority of spending lies in advocacy & programme funding. Refugees International does not take government or UN funding, which allows the organisation to speak freely to governments around the world and emphasise policies that work well and pinpoint where global action falls short. This also means the organisation relies on private funding to operate.
WHAT’S BEEN DONE SO FAR?
In 2017, RI successfully lobbied for $990 million in emergency U.S. government funding targeting famine response in Yemen, Somalia, Nigeria and South Sudan. In the past, RI has provided assistance for displaced people in Syria and Iraq, advocated on behalf of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, supported Syrian and non-Syrian asylum seekers in Turkey, provided a safety net for Hurricane Maria survivors and worked to end gender-based violence. Read more reports on previous projects here.
WHO ELSE IS ON BOARD?
If you’re a royalty fan: HRH Queen Noor of Jordan is a board member. If not, Sarah Jessica Parker and Matt Dillon have hosted events for the organisation.
WHERE TO DONATE?
Donations can be sent here.
(c) Global Climate Strike
WHY THE URGENCY?
There is little need to reiterate that the most urgent crisis of all is the one facing our global climate. Most human tragedies start and end with the environmental shift set in motion by decades of ecological mismanagement. Communities living on limited means and people of colour are affected disproportionately right now, but the ‘end of the world’ will strike everyone equally in the end. 2019 was definitely a breakout year for climate strikes, with school kids leading the wave from Brussels to Brazil. Figurehead Greta Thunberg was credited as TIME’s Person of the Year 2019 for setting in motion a wave of civil dissent and protest, culminating in the ‘Global Climate Strike’ project. This non-profit is meant to provide all the educational and organisational material needed for people to set up their own climate strikes and action groups. In September 2019, over 4,500 protests took place in 150 countries with millions of people participating. Since then, the organisation has been looking ahead via their ‘Fridays for Future’ movement.
WHERE DOES THE MONEY GO?
Money is not required to support the Global Climate Strike or Fridays for Future, organising is.
WHAT’S BEEN DONE SO FAR?
Getting together between 6 tot 8 million people for a global climate strike in September 2019 was just the beginning. The key is to keep going till actual policy change is effected. On the GCS website you can find training materials, guides, artwork & promotional materials to get your own protest or local interest group started. You can take action online or join people near you via their location finder, you can learn about the essentials of climate change via online skill-up documentation or the climate resistance handbook - all freely available.
WHO ELSE IS ON BOARD?
The question should be: who isn’t at this point? Here’s a full list of official partners and allies, including Amnesty International, Avaaz, Extinction Rebellion, Indigenous Environment Network, Patagonia and many more.
WHERE TO DONATE?
No money needed, just time. Head here.
Header image: (c) Arina Shabanova
