The Slowest Death: Charities
With each day, more discoveries are made which expose newer ways in which the
coronavirus is, either directly or indirectly, impacting the lives of every single person on
the planet. One of the worst impacted groups—which usually gets some of the least
coverage—is international charities.
High levels of anxiety, hope, instability, and joy have marked this time as we see
how pockets of society try to band together against this pandemic and support each
other any way they can. While many heartwarming tales of charity and funds
supporting vulnerable communities during this time have emerged, not much attention
is being paid to groups that rely on international support to survive.
“With each passing day, more discoveries are made which expose even newer ways in which the coronavirus is, either directly or indirectly, impacting the lives of every single person on the planet.”
TASSEL (Teaching and Sharing Skills to Enrich Lives) is an international NGO
focused on delivering aid to the people of Cambodia following the Khmer Rouge regime
in the form of education, psychological support, medicine, and financial aid. Every
summer, TASSEL hosts 4 opportunities for dedicated volunteers to travel to Cambodia
and deliver medicine, money, education, and emotional support to the people of
Cambodia. This time is crucial for the NGO since it permits volunteers to give in-person
instruction without technical difficulties, lets volunteers distribute medicine and
approximately 5,000 articles of clothing to around 100 elderly villagers every year,
inspires volunteers to work hard, and is a great source of joy for struggling
families—who would normally receive visits from volunteers—and for the Cambodian-
based volunteers of the organization. We also make important emotional connections
with our students. On one trip, I was touched by my students pooling their resources to
buy me a cupcake for my summer birthday. Needless to say, the ability to host these
summer volunteer opportunities is crucial for the overall health of TASSEL.
Aside from this crucial summer service, TASSEL also heavily relies on its spring
semester teaching program to provide aid to the people of Cambodia. Every week,
hundreds of TASSEL volunteers give online English instruction to students from ages
five and to past 18. This English education is crucial for the students who need to speak
English in order to obtain a college degree.
With the new reality we all face in this pandemic, none of the regular key
activities that TASSEL sponsors can take place. Travel restrictions ban volunteers to
travel and give in-person aid, which means that Cambodians won’t receive as much
medicine or clothing as past summers. The TASSEL sponsored local volunteer
opportunities, which await the foreigners’ visit to boost morale and interactions that
inspire everyone to work harder, can no longer take place. Additionally, the closure of
the country after cases were discovered in cities six hours away from Battambang
Province—where all the TASSEL schools are located—led to all public schools in
Cambodia shutting down. Since the impoverished families of TASSEL students don’t
have a way to attend class at their homes, these students are now missing the last two
months of their TASSEL school year. Because of social distancing measures and travel
restrictions, TASSEL students will have an extra five months this year where they will
not be able to learn from a teacher.
“Children may not even return to school once social distancing guidelines are lifted because they will have dropped out to start working to make up for the lost income.”
The coronavirus also presents huge issues for vulnerable populations in terms of
work. While the most highlighted issue is how workers will support their families on
limited income, this issue ripples to the children of working families as well. In
countries like Cambodia—where families will not receive a stimulus check from the
government—families face more dire financial situations. In turn, children may not
even return to school once social distancing guidelines are lifted because they will have
dropped out to start working to make up for the lost income. If this is already a regular
practice in vulnerable regions, it’s likely that this will happen on an even greater scale
once the pandemic passes.
What’s worse is, if it weren’t for the people in the big cities traveling to rural parts
of Cambodia, the people of the rural parts of Cambodia would most likely have never
even been exposed to the virus. However, because of inadequate measures by
governments and individuals all around the world, everyone is now scrambling to try to
contain the virus. Unfortunately, these reactive—rather than proactive—measures to
stop it are too late to halt the long-lasting ripple effects the pandemic will have,
especially on vulnerable populations. Not only are they more likely to succumb to the
disease, but they also have less financial means to defend against it. The long-lasting
effects are going to impact both the individual and larger organizations—such as
charities, like TASSEL. In order to help these vulnerable populations, it’s important to
remember to donate to international organizations that help areas of the world where
there are even more vulnerable populations than in the U.S.