Thank you from Emergency Alliance Appeal

Dear Sir,

On behalf of the Irish Emergency Alliance can we express our sincere gratitude to the people of The Avondhu area for their generous support for our national appeal to help vulnerable communities overseas respond to the coronavirus pandemic.

Thousands of people across Ireland phoned in, texted and made online donations to support the very first appeal by the Irish Emergency Alliance. You provided us with vital funding to help prevent devastating coronavirus outbreaks amongst the poorest - from the Rohingya refugees living in camps in Bangladesh, to victims of poverty and conflict in South Sudan and Democratic Republic of Congo.

Six Irish overseas aid charities (ActionAid Ireland, Christian Aid Ireland, Plan International Ireland, Self Help Africa, Tearfund Ireland and World Vision Ireland), created this new alliance because we believe that by working together, we can achieve more on behalf of the Irish public who support these efforts.

We launched our coronavirus appeal as the world surpassed the grim milestone of one million coronavirus deaths. It was a stark reminder that even after six months, the pandemic continues to gather pace across the globe.

As we contend with coronavirus here in Ireland, at least we do so without fear of war, without fear of having to run away from our homes and with the knowledge that we have easy access to masks, soap and clean water to help make sure we don’t spread the virus.

For many people in the world’s most fragile countries, coronavirus is not the only threat they have to face. For them, the pandemic is happening at the same time as they struggle to cope with extreme weather, hunger and conflict, which for many has meant having to abandon or flee their homes in search of safety elsewhere. Often this has meant ending up living in cramped conditions amidst vast, densely populated camps.

These conditions are their ‘ new normal’; but how can you maintain social distancing when you sleep on the floor in one room with as many as seven family members?

Medical staff are terrified at what will happen if coronavirus takes hold in these conditions.

You can still support the Irish Emergency Alliance’s coronavirus appeal by visiting www.irishemergencyalliance.org.

Yours, Helen Keogh, Chairperson, Irish Emergency Alliance.