COVID-19 Status Update for Child Sponsors

World Vision Cares

Child Sponsorship: Protecting Children's Health

The scale and spread of COVID-19 globally is a concern for us. In many countries where World Vision sponsored children live, the risks are even greater – health systems can be weak and many people won’t have doctors and health professionals to turn to if they fall sick. We are monitoring the situation in every country we work in.

Our Area Programmes supported by child sponsors are now focused on protecting children and community from the spread of the virus.

Child Sponsorship has made it possible for World Vision to respond to this crisis from the beginning.

We are supporting efforts by local health authorities, schools and local partners to prevent the spread of the virus, sharing stay-healthy messaging, helping to set up public handwashing stations, and distributing soap, sanitiser, and masks where appropriate. These preventative measures have always been an important part of our child sponsorship programme because in places of extreme poverty improving health, water, sanitation and hygiene saves lives – and now, more than ever.

To keep you informed on the situation in your sponsored child’s community, we will be providing reports here regularly. Please come back to this page for the latest updates.

You can also refer to our COVID-19-Child Sponsorship FAQs for more information.

In order to protect the world’s most vulnerable against the rapid global spread of COVID-19, World Vision is actively working against COVID-19 right now – everywhere we work – in nearly 100 countries worldwide. Read more here.

[Last Updated on 14 August 2020]

Bangladesh (Wazipur)

Registered Children Affected in Wazipur Area Programme: 0
World Vision Staff Affected in Wazipur Area Programme: 0

Schools remain closed and children remain home and are coping by spending time with their family, playing indoor games and reading. World Vision has also been providing educational materials such as colour pencils and drawing books.

Additionally, because of the lockdown, families are also suffering because of the household lack of income flow. In efforts to mitigate this, World Vision has identified 150 households to provide assistance to in the form of hygiene kits, handwashing devices, unconditional cash* and learning materials. The team has previously reached 402 households during the first phase of this assistance programme.

The team is also continuing to spread information and carry out interventions focused on safety and prevention to minimise the spread of COVID-19 in the community.

*Unconditional cash is given to families in order for them to purchase items that meet their most immediate needs including nutritious food, medicine, soap and other essentials for the family. World Vision keeps track of families that receive unconditional cash as these families are registered in the Child Sponsorship programme.

Cambodia (Kirivong)

Registered Children Affected in Kirivong Area Programme: 0
World Vision Staff Affected in Kirivong Area Programme: 0

Children are still home as schools remain closed. However, children are studying from home and teachers have also been visiting the children’s home to conduct lessons while practicing safe distancing and the necessary prevention methods.

The World Vision team continues to work with the local authority and health centers to conduct awareness on COVID-19 prevention measures and have also contributed materials masks, alcohol, gloves and soap to the government.

The team has also provided food assistance to families and will continue to focus recovery and response efforts on the community’s most vulnerable families and families registered in the child sponsorship programme.

China (Yaozhou)

Registered Children Affected in Yaozhou Area Programme: 0
World Vision Staff Affected in Yaozhou Area Programme: 0

Children in the community are currently at home due to the summer school holidays. The community continues to focus on recovery and World Vision has been providing support and aid to the community by distributing masks, disinfectants, thermometers and family hygiene packs.

Children are currently home due to the summer school holidays. However, before the holidays, all students have been returning to school, adhering to the necessary safety and hygiene measures such as temperature taking, wearing of masks and disinfecting the classrooms.

Ethiopia (Yaya Gulele)

Registered Children Affected in Yaya Gulele Area Programme: 0
World Vision Staff Affected in Yaya Gulele Area Programme: 0

Schools remain close and children are staying home and are keeping up with their education by borrowing books from World Vision’s reading camps in their community. World Vision Ethiopia will be supporting students to keep track of their education by working with the district education office to distribute handouts of the syllabus as well as provide the necessary educational equipment.

World Vision Ethiopia is also working with the established taskforce to focus their efforts on prevention measures and recovery by distributing PPEs, medical equipment as well as hygiene and sanitation materials. The team has also reached out to 150 vulnerable households with food items during this time.  

Indonesia (Ende)

Registered Children Affected in Ende Area Programme: 0
World Vision Staff Affected in Ende Area Programme: 0

World Vision is currently focusing on COVID-19 prevention and safety for the community members. The team is working with the government and the local church to spread awareness on hygiene practices and preventive measures. On the other hand, World Vision is also working closely with the government to improve child protection efforts and ensure regular monitoring of children, especially their mental and emotional health as well.

Children remain home as schools have yet to open. However, they have been gathering in small groups to study together and teachers have been visiting the community to conduct lessons for these small groups. The team has also been supporting children’s education by providing educational materials as well as creative activities for them to do carry out while at home.

Jeruselam, West Bank (South Hebron)

Registered Children Affected in South Hebron Area Programme: 0
World Vision Staff Affected in South Hebron Area Programme: 0

Children remain at home as schools have been slated to be reopened on September 6. World Vison JWG will also be working with the local Ministry of Education to ensure the safe reopening of schools.

The team here is also focusing on continued safety and prevention against COVID-19 by partnering with community health workers and other partners by distributing masks, raising awareness on COVID-19 via Facebook pages and distributing hygiene and protective materials to 500 mothers and children.

Mongolia (Selenge)

Registered Children Affected Selenge Area Programme: 0
World Vision Staff Affected Selenge Area Programme: 0

Children are remaining home and schools and kindergartens have been planned to be opened in September and universities in October. As the children continue to stay home, the team continues to conduct child monitoring and parents are still attending   online training for good parenting and positive discipline.

As schools prepare to reopen, World Vision Mongolia continues to focus on providing support and assistance to the community in line with safety and prevention. The team has provided hand sanitizers and masks for every child in the sponsorship programme as well as hygiene supplies, cleaning tools and mobile thermometers for schools in the community.

Myanmar (Taikkyi)

Registered Children Affected in Taikkyi Area Programme: 0
World Vision Staff Affected in Taikkyi Area Programme: 0

Children are still at home and are not allowed to even gather outside their homes to play. However, they have been reported to be happy with spending more time with their family members. While waiting for schools to start, World Vision has supported 1,620 children with “Learning from Home” kits as well and 19 schools have also been supported with 31 handwashing stations.

The team is also working to provide the community with recovery and prevention and thus far has provided hygiene and child protection kits for 1530 most vulnerable families and families registered in the sponsorship programme, food support to 686 families and livelihood opportunities to 30 most vulnerable families as well. The team will continue to conduct child monitoring to ensure the health and safety of the children.

Nepal (Sindhuli East)

Registered Children Affected in Sindhuli East Area Programme: 0
World Vision Staff Affected in Sindhuli East Area Programme: 0

While lockdown measures have been lifted in the community, schools remain closed and children are at home. However, they are continuing to learn through radio lessons – an initiative of World Vision Nepal. World Vision has further supported 503 children with self-reading and stationery materials.

The team is working towards supporting the community by easing back into the usual child sponsorship programme interventions while upholding preventive measures. As such, the team has provided 2848 children with hygiene kits, 917 children with sanitary napkins and 500 most vulnerable families with food support

Philippines (Antique)

Registered Children Affected in Antique Area Programme: 0
World Vision Staff Affected in Antique Area Programme: 0

The community remains under lockdown restrictions and curfews. Children are kept home and are coping by helping their parents out in the farm and playing “School” as a way to stay in touch with their subjects as well.  

World Vision Philippines continues to support children and their families with school kits – as schools have been planned to start remotely around end-August – food packs and awareness materials on COVID-19 prevention and child protection as well as unconditional cash*.

The team will also focus its efforts on providing the community with support for safety and COVID-19 prevention in partnership with the local government’s COVID-19 taskforce. They will also continue to conduct remote monitoring of the children with the help of community volunteers.

*Unconditional cash is given to families in order for them to purchase items that meet their most immediate needs including nutritious food, medicine, soap and other essentials for the family. World Vision keeps track of families that receive unconditional cash as these families are registered in the Child Sponsorship programme.

Sri Lanka (Lindula)

Registered Children Affected in Lindula Area Programme: 0
World Vision Staff Affected in Lindula Area Programme: 0

Children remain home as schools have yet to be fully opened. However, with support from World Vision, they are able to continue learning from home remotely. Additionally, in preparation for the reopening of schools, the team has provided 67 schools, 63 preschools and 72 crèches (nurseries) with disinfectant packs as well.

World Vision Sri Lanka will also be supporting the community to remain safe and maintain COVID-19 preventive measures with the continual awareness-raising initiatives and distribution of dry ration packs. The team has provided 5693 families with one-week’ worth of dry rations and will be providing 2918 preschools and crèche with nutritious meals to ensure the nutritional needs of the children are met.

Thailand (Bo Kluea)

Registered Children Affected in Bo Kluea Area Programme: 0
World Vision Staff Affected in Bo Kluea Area Programme : 0

Children have been able to return to schools while adhering to the safety measures including regular and proper handwashing, wearing of masks and temperature taking at the school’s entrance. Class rooms also have less than 20 students to ensure social distancing.

World Vision Thailand has been supporting the community by providing food sources, livelihood opportunities such as chicken farming and fruit tree farming.

Vietnam (Son Tra)

Registered Children Affected Son Tra and Tien Lu AP: 0
World Vision Staff Affected Son Tra and Tien Lu AP: 0

Children are staying home as schools are closed. However, the children have been reported to be stressed from staying at home. World Vision Vietnam is providing support to them by providing stress management tips.

As Vietnam is facing its second wave, the team is focusing its efforts on preventing the spread of COVID-19 in the community. The team has planned for more masks to be provided for children and their families, distribution of emergency supplies such as rice, masks and liquid soaps/sanitizers as well as food aid for about 600 households. Additionally, World Vision Vietnam will also be creating awareness on child safety as they stay home.

Zambia (Musosolokwe)

Registered Children Affected in Musosolokwe Area Programme: 0
World Vision Staff Affected in Musosolokwe Area Programme: 0

Children continue to stay home as plans for schools to be reopened have yet to be decided. However, students in Grades 7, 9 and 12 have been going back as these students are considered “examination classes”. World Vision Zambia has been supporting the students by providing handwashing stations, infra-red scanners and disinfectants for schools while children who have been staying home are encouraged to borrow books from the community’s reading corner.

The team is also continuing to focus its efforts on preventive measures and safety against COVID-19 and child protection by raising awareness through door to door efforts.