The COVID-19 outbreak has taken hold of communities across the globe, infecting hundreds of thousands as of today, and few remain unaffected by the uncertainties of quarantine, isolation, job losses and so much more.
Here in Indonesia, the situation continues to unfold rapidly with the government urging people to stay at home, work from home, learn from home, pray/worship from home until further notice. These are unprecedented and extremely uncertain times.
The health and safety of our team members and the communities we work with is our top priority. Following President of Indonesia Joko Widodo’s speech on 15 March 2020, Kopernik implemented precautionary measures including a work-for-home policy and suspending all travel plans and events. This situation has a significant impact on our project activities and we are constantly discussing necessary adjustments and potential scenarios with our partners, clients and donors. We are all getting a crash-course in how to work remotely, make the best use of available technologies and breathe deeply when the internet connection is not behaving.
Supporting each other
As we go through this period of forced isolation, the spirit of collaboration and staying connected with our communities will be more important than ever. There are so many inspiring people and groups across Indonesia who have already provided much needed care and support and taken action which includes translating medical jargon into easy to understand language that can be shared via social media campaigns and starting fundraising efforts to support critical equipment for health workers on the front lines of fighting COVID-19.
As a form of immediate and direct support, Kopernik is raising funds to provide critical equipment for frontline workers such as nurses and doctors, which consist of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and sanitizing supplies.
In order to encourage people to stay home, we participated in the #AmanDariCOVID19 campaign and also partnered with Bali-based band Navicula and digital media outlet Narasi.tv to host an online concert to provide some relief and entertainment in difficult times, get the message out about the importance of staying at home to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and hopefully provide a spark of inspiration to others about how to be innovative in these times of social distancing. More than 1,500 people gathered - online and from their homes - on 20 March 2020.
Partnership with Navicula and Narasi.tv to provide entertainment and encourage people to stay at home.
Recovering together
The road to recovery is still uncertain and will surely be still a long one. Kopernik will continue to respond to the situation as it evolves. We will need to be creative in addressing the systemic repercussions of the world-wide pandemic and provide support to those who are hit the hardest. We already see the domino effects of the outbreak setting in on our home island of Bali, where the majority of livelihoods rely on the tourism industry.
The next few weeks and months will likely be some of the most difficult times that many of us have experienced. Let’s take care of each other, reach out to each other (remotely) and provide support to those who need it most. I’m choosing to stay optimistic in my belief that some of the most amazing ideas and initiatives are born out of times of crisis and our whole team at Kopernik will continue to work on finding solutions, even in these most challenging of times.