Sewing Masks, Supporting Families
I started ACESWorld to connect children in the US to children globally, to encourage children to become global citizens and to value and care for others regardless of where they happen to live. Since we began, we have touched thousands of children’s lives in the US, Colombia, Ghana, Haiti and Uganda through teacher training, agriculture, reproductive health education and global citizenship programs.
We are a volunteer organization and the generosity of so many people make these programs possible. Yet many feel that we should focus on helping those in the US. We are a small organization with limited resources and the resources we have would have little impact in the US. Most of our programs cost less than $20/person and depend on the generosity of our in-country program associates to implement.
Recently our team met (virtually) to discuss how we might impact the pandemic. Our conclusion was that we did not have the resources to impact the pandemic in the US, but if we can slow the spread in countries where the virus has recently arrived we would be doing our best to protect lives, including lives in the US. We know that the Coronavirus does not respect borders—the spread of COVID-19 in other countries impacts the US directly. We already know how quarantine is impacting those living with limited resources both here and abroad. Families around the world must make difficult choices about safety and survival.
How We Are Doing Our Part
In Ghana, personal protective equipment (PPE) is almost nonexistent, and what there is must go to the hospitals in the large cities and regions that are the epicenters of the outbreak. We partner with a clinic in Kumasi, a region that has seen cases of COVID-19. The clinic remains closed because they do not have any PPE. We are working to help slow the spread of COVID-19 in the communities where we work by empowering women to sew masks. We want to give women whose sewing shops are closed (and who are now unable to feed their families) fabric, instructions and support to sew masks for their communities.
With $10 you can help one woman with the supplies she needs to begin manufacturing masks to feed her family. These masks will also include information on the care of cloth masks and how to stay safe during this global pandemic.
We are all in this together. If you are able, please give what you can.
--Linda Jackson, Founder and CEO