Cardboard beds. Urban farms. Roving mariachi bands. These are some of the ways that regular folks are solving problems and spreading happiness during the pandemic.…
Cardboard beds. Urban farms. Roving mariachi bands.
These are some of the ways that regular folks are solving problems and spreading happiness during the pandemic.
The solutions aren’t perfect — public health experts have some critiques and suggestions. But at the same time, they applaud the ingenuity and positive vibes.
Read the stories of six grassroots change-makers — then nominate your own at the bottom of this story.
In April, Jackline Oyamo, 31, was laid off from her job as an electronic sales assistant at a shop in Kibera, one of the world’s largest slums on the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya. The curfews to control the pandemic meant fewer customers – and staff cutbacks. «After losing my job, it was extremely difficult to keep feeding myself after I exhausted my small savings,» she says.
But Oyamo is able to get fresh produce for free from Victor Edalia, a 30-year-old urban farmer in her neighborhood. Last November, Edalia, who works as a driver by day, converted a trash dump site in the slum into an urban garden. He signed an agreement with a local chief to use the land. Now, the plot, about a quarter of an acre, grows vegetables such as kale, onions and spinach.
Edalia originally started the farm to boost his income. The idea was to sell vegetables to hotels. But once the pandemic hit, he changed the plan. He wanted to find a way to «give back,» he says.
So throughout the pandemic, Edalia has been providing free supplies of vegetables to 10 needy families and individualsin Kibera. They include young people who lost their jobs in the pandemic, like Oyamo, as well as single mothers and families with households of more than seven people. They can drop by the farm up to three times a week to pick up a supply of vegetables.
«I saw needy families get food donations, mostly comprising of dry foods but without any vegetables,» says Edalia.
Oyamo says the veggies supplement other food donations she receives from charities and people in the community.
Moses Omondi, team leader of Adopt a Family, a local nonprofit that’s been providing dry food donations – like maize flour — to 500 families in Kibera, thinks Edalia’s program is promising.
Providing veggies to families who receive food packs – «I think it’s a pretty smart approach,» he says. «In addition to supporting struggling families during these tough times that face starvation while at home, it helps to reduce anxiety and helplessness of a Kibera family.»
Thomas Bwire is a digital and radio journalist from Kibera, Kenya.
Houses of worship had to close their doors because of the pandemic. And even now, with some reopening, there may be limits on how many congregants are allowed in.
Nnamdi Udeh, 29, a tech entrepreneur in Nigeria, came up with OSanctus, an app that offers some solutions: easy access to virtual worshipping options and a reservations system so there won’t be crowding at reopened churches.
Churches can use the app to stream mass online and share community announcements. Parishioners can book a virtual consultation with a priest — and send in a digital donation. And in Nigeria, where houses of worship have capped attendance at 50% of capacity, folks can use the app to register for a spot instead of showing up to church in the hope of being let in.
«It helps the priests manage their time schedule, know how many persons they are expecting on a particular day, all the appointments and masses booked and other activities that they want,» says Udeh.
Harvard Medical School physician Dr. Abraar Karan says indoor churches are high risk. «There is singing usually and close face-to-face contact between participants. While the app is probably trying to reduce crowding outside the church, it is unclear if it will achieve that.»
But, he adds, «if the church is going to open either way, the app could help ensure that only a certain number of people come at a time.»
So far, it’s been helpful to parishioners. «It is user-friendly and helps us to resolve church registration issues. Parishioners can easily access the parish office and we can also reach out to them,» says Father Paul Akin-Otiko, a pastor at a Catholic-run chaplaincy. «It came in handy during this pandemic.»
The app runs in six parishes in Lagos and has been downloaded about 500 times. It is now under trial in other parishes across the country. But it’s not 100% altruistic. As everyone struggles to earn a living in these times, the app maker plans to charge the churches an annual fee, based on the size of the parish.
