Latest Updates: Wednesday 8 April

Jesuit Mission is in close contact with our Jesuit partners on the ground across Asia and Africa and working with them to better understand the Coronavirus context in their country and what impact they believe it will have on their projects and the communities they walk alongside in the near future.

Many of the countries, where we support projects, are already in lock-down or their countries have declared a state of emergency. Many staff are working from home and some projects have been temporarily suspended.

As Fr Tony Moreno SJ, President of Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific, reminded us recently, "it is not just a question of flattening the curve of Covid-19, but also flattening the curve of hunger".

Here are some of the ways our Jesuit partners are addressing their dire situations.

At Xavier Jesuit School in Cambodia, an Emergency Fund has been set up for the families of their students who will soon face financial difficulties. With all the borders to Vietnam, Laos and Thailand closed, many jobs have vanished and for those families who have been surviving on their US$5 a day income, they will soon have no money to live on.

Our Jesuits in Vietnam are preparing more than 10 tons of rice to give to families in need.

At Xavier Learning Centre in Thailand, the team is determined to find ways to carry on learning activities online despite the technical and infrastructure difficulties.

At JRS Thailand, the team is providing assistance for Covid-19 tests for refugees, as well as opening JRS hotlines to conduct casework, counselling, and other protection services.

At JRS Malawi, despite the shortage in food supplies, they will continue on with their feeding program.

We are all living in very uncertain times. As part of one global human family, we ask that you join us in praying for all our Jesuit partners and the communities they serve and walk alongside as they face the impact of Coronavirus in the coming months.