Coronavirus

Jorge Afonso

I never thought I'd be asking for food

and financial assistance at this point in my life.

 

Tamara

As a mother, I feel anxious and terribly helpless.

 

Pedro Luis Álvarez

My dream, my aspirations right now are immediate… to survive.

 

TEXT CARD

The consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic

have pulled hundreds of thousands of people

in Spain into poverty, compromising

protection of their basic rights.

 

The Spanish government has not

responded adequately to urgent needs

for food and financial support leaving

many people turning to food banks.

 

 

Raquel Coronel

I’ve come here to collect food because I need it,  mostly as I’m unemployed now

and I don’t have another option.

 

Jorge Afonso

I used to work as a computer technician,

and I even had my own business.  But I was very badly affected by the pandemic and now I’m in this financial situation, something that has never happened to me

before in my life.

 

TEXT CARD

Spain needs a social security system

that guarantees people’s right to food

and an adequate standard of living.

 

Paola Castillo Erago

coordinadora de reparto de alimentos

Parroquia de San Ramón Nonato.

During the pandemic, the number of people

coming here increased significantly. Right now, the poverty situation is very serious. Because we’ve noticed that even people with jobs

 are coming to Caritas [food distribution] to ask for help because the salaries they receive

aren’t enough to support their families.

 

TEXT CARD

In April 2020, Spain’s government brought

in a furlough scheme and Minimum Vital

Income (IMV) assistance to help citizens and

residents during the pandemic.

 

However, many people in need never received support.

 

75% of those who applied for IMV

were refused by March 2021.

 

 

Pedro Luis Álvarez

When I worked in a factory,

I was getting something like 1,050 [euros] a month. My rent alone costs 730 euros. After you deduct the rent, transportation,energy, the water bill, the girls’ school expenses,

there is nothing left. It’s that simple.

 

We’ve tried to access different resources

established by the government like the minimum vital income, and we always find ourselves in limbo. What kind of limbo? Well, there is always a requirement that excludes us.

 

TEXT CARD

Pedro, who moved from Cuba,

is a Spanish citizen and one of

six million people living in

poverty in Spain.

 

Pedro Luis Álvarez

The biggest difficulty we have is the energy issue. We were very cold, during the winter

and we simply couldn’t afford to pay for the heating. Everything is a hardship

when you don't have enough. Coming here to Spain,

a land I loved from afar, and realizing that the

situation is so difficult.

 

 We see no future. If we don't have a stroke of luck,

our prospects are terrible.

 

Tamara

Right now, the income that

I have in my household is zero. Expenses can be 150 to 200 [Euros per month]. The pandemic’s economic impact

has very much been felt in my family. I worked cleaning houses,

but I lost [my job in] the houses because they were owned by older people. I’m waiting for an appointment

at the unemployment office so I can get my benefits. 

But they never have openings.

 

TEXT CARD

For some, help has come from

community members during

the crisis.

 

 

Jessica Ferrer

Despensa Solidaria San Diego

Here you mostly see people who clean

and people who take care of the elderly. Followed by restaurant workers,

waiters and cooks. I think the government should have

stronger strategies to help families. The little that they're doing,

is not noticeable because otherwise we wouldn't

be here [in the pantry] for these types of cases.

 

Usman Camara

When the pandemic came,

there were all kinds of people, Spaniards, migrants, all kinds of people who did not have basic food to eat a daily meal. They couldn’t even buy a loaf of bread. At least, thanks to the foodbank,

 all these people were able to eat daily. No one was left behind.

 

TEXT CARD

Usman donated thousands of kilos of fruit

and vegetables to community foodbanks

during the crisis.

 

Usman Camara

Man, it’s essential that

no one should go without basic food. If we let that happen

then we’ve lost our common sense.  For me, it’s crucial that no one goes hungry.  We must collaborate.

We must support one another. We must help.

 

TEXT CARD

Governments like Spain’s should learn

lessons from the pandemic.

 

They should implement reforms to ensure

a strong social security system that guarantees

everyone’s rights to social security, food,

and an adequate standard of living.

 

People’s rights, including the ability to feed

their families, should always be protected,

especially in times of crisis.

 

 

 

Nairobi, Kenya   

Rosemary Mungai, Village Chairwoman, Mukuru: When coronavirus came, we experienced so many problems because there was just no money.  

Esther Arumba, Laundry Worker, Mukuru: Because of the nature of my job, I couldn’t get any work. I would just boil water and go to sleep with the kids.  

Strict Covid-19 lockdowns have hit especially hard for people in Nairobi’s informal settlements. Without a social security system to help them when they can’t work, people face starvation and eviction.   

Rosemary Mungai, Village Chairwoman, Mukuru: As you know there are no jobs at the moment, so I live with seven of my grandchildren.  And I’m the one fending for them. (Speaking to potential customer) I’m selling soap for Kshs. 20 (.18 USD).   

Uhuru Kenyatta, Kenyan President (Courtesy of KTN NEWS ): There are many Kenyans who have been stripped of their dignity, who cannot feed their families or pay their rent and many of these Kenyans find themselves in very vulnerable and difficult situations. Every single week my administration has been dispatching 250 million shillings to vulnerable families.   

The Kenyan president pledged to send cash to the people hardest hit by Covid-19 restrictions, but the money only reached about five percent of those who needed it in Nairobi.   

 Esther Arumba, Laundry Worker, Mukuru: I didn’t get the cash.  

Instead of distributing the cash to people in dire need, many government officials registered their own family and friends. And today, millions of people are still desperate for support.  

Rosemary Mungai, Village Chairwoman, Mukuru: There should be transparency. They should stop embezzling funds meant for the underprivileged. They should continue the program and increase the number of people. We can identify those of us in dire need within our communities.   

Esther Arumba, Laundry Worker, Mukuru: The government should be transparent and extend the program. 

The Kenyan government should follow through on its promise ensure that the cash reaches those who need it the most.   

All Kenyans have a right to a decent standard of living.  

Rosemary Mungai, Village Chairwoman, Mukuru: We are asking the government to take care of its citizens. 

  

  

 

Lagos, Nigeria

Margaret Okuomo

My name is Margaret. I was born [in] 1980, and I live in Isale Akoka [community in] Bariga.

I have seven children. We don't eat the way we used to eat before. People who ate three meals [a day] are now eating one.

Narration: The Covid-19 crisis has had a devastating economic impact on families living in or near poverty in Lagos State. The number of Nigerians experiencing hunger more than doubled during the pandemic.

Margaret Okuomo

How do we eat? [Through] God’s grace. Sometimes at night we just soak two handfuls of garri [cassava meal] for dinner and sleep. But we still thank God we didn't die of hunger or coronavirus.

Narration:  Margaret lost her job as a cleaner in March 2020 and scraped by for more than six months without any government support. Nigeria’s under-resourced social security system struggled to respond to the impact of the pandemic.

Margaret Okuomo

In the neighborhood we are managing small small, everybody is hustling for their life. But as Corona came, these days, everybody is just there, no work.

Narration:  The federal and Lagos State governments promised cash transfers and food handouts to help people through the pandemic, but they only reached a fraction of households needing support.

Margaret Okuomo

We have been hearing rumors that the government shared money and food, but in our area we didn't see anything except from [charitable] organizations.

Narration: The federal and Lagos State governments should increase support for families, like Margaret’s, and they should build well-funded social security systems to tackle widespread poverty.

Margaret Okuomo

They should think about the fact that it is the poor people that suffering the most. Let them look for a solution, so we don't die of hunger.