The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that NGO’s are among the first to help in the event of an emergency. Volunteering in emergencies is becoming one of the most significant priorities, as its flexibility and ability to adapt quickly to a changing situation allows organizations to quickly and accurately target the need for assistance where it is most needed.
The goal of the project is to prepare and provide assistance during emergencies. Achieving this requires constant work with volunteers and their prior preparation to act in the event of a disaster (military conflict, natural disasters, biological disasters, outbreaks of various diseases, etc.).
The outcomes of the project:
• 100 new volunteers will be attracted;
• we will form a team of rapid response volunteers - 50 volunteers, who will be ready to respond in case of unforeseen events;
• volunteers will be trained to perform tasks in a quality manner and to behave safely in the event of a current and future emergency;
• we will retain the existing volunteers who work in 42 places in Lithuania (adults - 300, youth - 500);
• the necessary equipment will be purchased for the volunteers to perform the tasks assigned to them in a quality manner;
• we will provide our guardians with personal protective equipment as needed.
Volunteers will provide support and emergency aid for:
• seniors - food rations, hot food and other needs will be taken care of - medicines, etc.);
• families, children and young people in difficulty - we will provide emotional support, food aid, counseling, help with distance learning, etc.;
• residents, who have suffered from Covid-19 and / or are in self-isolation - we will provide emotional support, inform, consult, collect needs;
• the disabled and the sick - we will organize transportation, provide food assistance, emotional support, we will consult.
The Maltese were among the first to contribute to the management of the pandemic situation. Prior to the announcement of the quarantine, we were on duty at airports, and then we redesigned our services to ensure that they were provided and safe to the most vulnerable sections of our society. Back in March, following the announcement of the quarantine, volunteers mobilized and trained during the quarantine helped to take care of the increased number of service recipients, replacing volunteers at risk and volunteering before the emergency. We initiated the campaign "Let's Help Lithuanian Doctors Fight Coronavirus".