The coronavirus has a way of slipping into the fissures of our world and illuminating them for all to see. In wealthy countries, to step up your hand-washing practices all you might need is a few reminders; for families living in poverty, you may lack the means to buy a bar of soap.

That's why in the rural villages, or barangays, of Eastern Samar province, the Philippines, an Oxfam partner has been helping communities tackle hand hygiene. Shelter-in-place orders have left families without incomes. Not only do they struggle to buy essentials like soap - they lack running water in their homes.

Our partner, the Philippines Rural Reconstruction Movement (PRRM), has been working closely with local governments to install hand-washing stations with free soap. And providing facts about hygiene is part of the package. Raymundo Agaton, the director of PRRM, and the local authorities have seen to it that the stations include clear, informative signs.

"In an emergency like this," he says, "making sure everyone has good information is especially important."

It's your support as a member of the Oxfam community that makes projects like this possible. In the Philippines, we are working with 16 partners in vulnerable communities, providing hand-washing stations as well as referral information related to gender-based violence, sexual and reproductive health, and family planning. Our longstanding partnership with local organizations means we can respond to new disasters like COVID-19 more quickly.

Read more about our work responding to COVID-19 in the Philippines.
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Eastern Samar is a coastal province that has borne the brunt of countless powerful typhoons, and the people who make their living here as fishers and farmers struggle to make ends meet. With Oxfam's support, PRRM has worked for years helping high flood-risk coastal communities prepare for disasters, protect the environment, and find storm-resilient sources of income.

In one town, they're helping restore a mangrove forest. In another, they're helping women develop a seaweed plantation. Everywhere they go, they work on what's called digital financial inclusion: enabling people who would otherwise have no connection to a financial institution move money securely - whether to bank their savings or receive emergency cash transfers.

Like Oxfam, PRRM sees humanitarian work not as an act of charity but as a means of helping people claim their right to a life of security and dignity. "We try to create equal partnerships with the communities," says Agaton. "When we face a problem, we work hand in hand with them to devise a solution."

It all adds up to something that is worth its weight in gold: trust.

"We are rooted in the communities," says Agaton, "and in this emergency we will do everything we can to help them."


Right now, in addition our work to prevent the spread of COVID-19, we're committed to keeping up our long-term work fighting poverty around the world, like through our partnership with PRRM in the Philippines. Your support makes this possible - thank you.
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