As the Coronavirus pandemic continues to spread across Bangkok COVID Relief Bangkok are also spreading their relief efforts to more and more districts with confirmed Coronavirus cases, most of who are in a complete lockdown situation. COVID Relief Bangkok is a campaign providing critical first response needs to communities most affected by COVID-19 across Bangkok. They have already helped hundreds of families and with your support they can help thousands more.
COVID Relief Bangkok was established on March 23rd by Sati Foundation, Scholars of Sustenance and Urban Studies Lab, they have joined forces to create a public Facebook group to assist those most vulnerable in the city and who are trying to survive without the bare essentials they need to live. They are coordinating donations, gathering together groups of volunteers and coordinating efforts to reach those who need it the most in the safest way possible. They initially started with a mere 60 or so people helping their efforts and this number as currently exploded to over 1,900 members in their public Facebook group.
They are using demographics data along with urban development experts and are working to transparently identify communities who are most affected and in need. They are looking at factors relating to age, income and pre-existing conditions. The first community they targeted was the Nangloern community in Bangkok which is located near the Rajadamnoen boxing stadium. This local community is home to 233 households and has a high ratio of elderly and low-income families, each family received a care pack consisting of masks, soap, hand santiser and a few basic necessities of rice and canned fish. All of these items were donated in collaboration with the Health Volunteer Foundation and the people directly on the frontline as COVID Relief Bangkok. 100% of the donations reaches the hands of those who need it the most.
COVID Relief Bangkok are lucky to be partnered with the local health offices and their volunteers. Community health offices exist in each Bangkok district who work with minimal resources. They work closely with the communities and know most almost all the households. In the instance where there is a suspected case of the virus they will be the first ones there to test. When there is an individual or family in quarantine they are the ones who monitor and ensure the families are ok. The Bangkok hospitals are doing an amazing job but we tend to forget all the communities who rarely visit the hospitals or cannot afford the tests.
How You Can Help
- You can now donate money directly to their Socialgiver page
- You can donate items directly to them at their drop off point, which will then be carefully sorted, packed and distributed directly to those in need.
- You can sign up to be a volunteer to help pack and sort items
- You can tell your friends and share this blog to create interest in their work.
- You can peak to any corporate companies you may know that would like to sponsor their work as part of their CSR initiatives.
If you would like to volunteer please contact them directly on their Facebook page COVID Relief Bangkok, any donations can be sent directly to Na Cafe at Bangkok 1899. You can find this location on google maps and send via lineman, grab or lalamove.
The immediate needs are:
- Washable reusable face masks
- Soaps
- Alcohol gel hand sanitiser
- Rice
- Protective rubber gloves
As stated by Adam Sharpe, COVID Relief Bangkok Campaign Manager, “If we don’t equip the most at risk with these things the virus will spread like crazy throughout the city.”
According to Sati founder Sakson Rouypirom “This project is for the long haul.”
