MOC FOUNDATION COVID-19 RESPONSE
A message from our Chairman, Dr Jose Martines
The MOC Charitable Foundation in the UK has faced new demands for its assistance since the effects of the pandemic started to be felt. Not only the number of requests for support has increased substantially but ongoing projects identified new needs to respond to the situation. As our resources are limited and the demands are greater, we have decided that during this crisis we will give higher priority to addressing the funding needs of projects in the UK over international projects
.
We summarize below the effects on our ongoing projects:
BLIND RELIEF ASSOCIATION, NEW DELHI, INDIA
The school closed in mid-March in response to the lockdown determined by the Indian Government. The children were sent back to their family homes and only essential services were kept running at the school. As the lockdown starts to be relaxed, government guidelines on the restart of school activities are soon awaited.
BASIC HEALTH CARE, RAJASTHAN,
INDIA
The project, which includes the provision of treatment and food supplements for tuberculosis patients, is even more important now during the pandemic. When the project was renewed in April 2020, we approved extending the same type of care for pregnant women, in addition to assisting poorer families in the establishment of kitchen gardens and backyard poultry as means to support their nutrition. These components will be even more relevant in the period of scarcity precipitated by the pandemic.
HANDICAPPED CHILDREN PILGRIMAGE TRUST (HCPT), UK
The project, that supported taking handicapped children in a pilgrimage to Lourdes, could not be implemented this year. The organizers asked for the funding to be reserved until the pilgrimage is possible and that limited financial assistance be provided to organize local activities for the children that might be possible to implement while the lockdown is in place.
EBBW FAWR LEARNING COMMUNITY, WALES
The project, that provided resources for promoting accelerated reading among school children, the participation of students in Debating Chambers, and the development of a Resource Bank, was significantly affected. The greater need of the local community for resource bank’s support led the Foundation to agree to the reallocation of some of the approved funding towards it. The cost of participation in Debating Chambers was reduced making use of opportunities for remote, electronic access.
RICHARD HOUSE CHILDREN HOSPICE, UK
The original project we supported allowed the purchase of essential equipment for the hospice. The pandemic created an acute shortage of resources threatening the interruption of services. We provided additional financial assistance towards running costs, allowing the services to continue.