Covid-19 has presented unique risks in the Jewish communities of Gondar and Addis Ababa, where families live in very crowded quarters, typically in one room huts. This together with the lack of access to clean running water and hygiene products has caused great concern about the potential of the disease to quickly spread.
Thankfully, our funding partner SSEJ together with support from our donors, has provided emergency preventive assistance that has helped keep the situation under control. Large donations and distributions of masks, gloves, bars of soap, and thermometers have been invaluable in aiding the population. Additionally and importantly SSEJ has set up water stations in the communities and around the Jewish compounds, and hired nursing staff to do medical checks and to educate the people about proper hand washing and hygiene.
We continue to be concerned about preventive measures, and are incurring additional expenses to cover the medical staffing and PPE products that are essential to keeping the communities healthy.
