CID Weekly: Fiji Covid crisis, National Volunteer Week & World Refugee Day

+ Vaccine roll out dashboard - last 7 days

+ Fiji Covid Crisis Worsens

Another 126 new cases of the virus were reported in Fiji on Monday, and today the New Zealand government announced an extra $10 million towards the country's Covid response.

The bulk of cases were in the Suva-Nausori corridor, where about a third of the population is based, reports the NZ Herald.

The assistance includes up to $5 million for the Government to deliver Covid-19 operations, and $5 million to local civil society organisations working directly with households to mitigate poverty risks, including through the provision of food rations, said Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta.

The Fiji government has stopped providing information about where the case increases are and the Health Secretary Dr James Fong admitted that community transmission was now “broad”, reports Lice Movono at Asia Pacific Report.

Fiji now has more than 1500 active cases in isolation since this outbreak in April. Five people have also died.

Pacific Community (formally SPC) reports that "11 countries (Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas (CNMI), Fiji, French Polynesia, Guam, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea (PNG), Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), Samoa, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Wallis and Futuna) in the PICTs have reported cases and deaths." See the graph below for a breakdown of Covid cases in the Paciifc.

+ Celebrating our volunteers

This week is National Volunteer Week where New Zealand celebrates the work of thousands of volunteers.

In international development many aid agencies are dependent on the work of volunteers and interns who make an invaluable contribution that is not always reflected in financial accounts as the 'donation' that it is.

As public donations have declined over 15 years, so too have the number of volunteers, according to JB Were's Support Report.

There has also been a consistent pattern of higher female participation all of which is mirrored in similar surveys in both Australia and the USA.

"The combination of time pressure, growing regulation around volunteering, the increasing desire of volunteers to do skills based and “meaningful” work, lack of financial incentives (compared to tax rebates for financial donations) and preparation and support required from recipient organisations, suggests this concerning trend in volunteering may continue."

The challenge is for aid agencies to offer volunteers and interns experiences that are meaningful, where people can feel that they're making a contribution.

On behalf of New Zealand's aid agencies CID would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to those of you who volunteer your time, your experience and your passion to our work.

In particular we are so grateful to our CID interns, and proud that many have gone on to successful careers. We couldn't do our work without you!
 

+ Aid Volunteerism  - Get Real

On the subject of volunteering, The New Humanitarian has a piece out this week on the need for aid voluntourism 'to get real'.

Paid volunteer programmes are the norm in organisations like Habitat for Humanity, VSA, missionary groups from churches, study abroad programmes, and more.

But 'Voluntourism' is loser, and is a largely unregulated and loosely structured 'industry', writes Sarika Bansal, author of  “Tread Brightly: Notes on Ethical Travel”,

Before Covid it was on the rise.

One estimate is that the voluntourism industry is worth $2 billion a year, which includes over 10 million people who participate in service-based travel.

'Getting real' means 'scaling back the expected outcomes of voluntourism', says Sarika Bansal.

"Show up not with a desire to save the world, but with a desire to see other people as three-dimensional humans who happen to live different lives than you do."

"And, most importantly, have the humility to recognise that your trip will likely benefit you more than the community you are visiting."

To find out more about how to have a positive impact on the places you visit (or plan to visit when the borders open), CID member, Good Travel has some excellent advice. 

+ World Refugee Day - 20th June

20th June was World Refugee Day, an international day designated by the United Nations to honour refugees around the globe.

This year, the theme called for greater inclusion of refugees in health systems, schools and sport, particularlyin the recovery from the impact of the global Covid pandemic.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi's message on World Refugee Day is available here. It announces that an unprecedented number of people have been forced to flee their homes.

More than 82.4 million men, women and children have had their worlds turned upside down by war, violence and persecution.

Concerns however have been raised with how the UN is utilising data about refugees. 

 

+ Please Complete the Annual Member Survey

Did you get a link to the 2021 CID Member Survey?

It went out to all CEOs and main contacts on the 10th June and you have until the 9 July to complete the survey.

Why is it important?

The overarching results (which are anonymous) get shared with your peers, ministers and MFAT, and also media. It gives us a ‘whole of New Zealand’ snap-shot of who is working in the area of development – plus how/where/why and what different organisations are doing, who they’re working with etc. It’s also how we advocate on your behalf for issues and challenges that need addressing. And how we know the best way to support you and your team.

So whether you are a Full or Affiliate member, it’s really important your organisation’s data is represented in the Survey. Any questions contact Philippa.

+ UnionAID: Peter Conway Memorial Lecture

UnionAID invites you to the 6th annual Peter Conway Memorial Lecture on 30 June.  The lecture “It’s do or die: A New Generation Fights for Democracy, will be given by Ross Wilson and cover the complex issues at the heart of the ongoing struggle for democracy in Myanmar as well as an assessment of the future. For details and to register visit UnionAID’s website.

This annual lecture honours the memory and work of Peter Conway, NZ Council of Trade Unions National Secretary, Oxfam Board member and founding Trustee of UnionAID.

+ Get One. Give One Campaign 

Anglican Missions invites you to join their Get one. Give one. campaign!

Through this campaign, New Zealanders can contribute to a broad global initiative that aims to fund support for vaccine equality in countries that would otherwise miss out.  This is an opportunity to show unity across the sector and can be used to complement current COVID appeals. Further information is available here.

There is also a Zoom call to update people on the campaign next Tuesday at 3pm. For details please contact office@cid.org.nz 

+ Do you want to facilitate a session at the 2021 CID Conference?
 

The 2021 CID Conference will bring together New Zealand and Pacific international development sectors after a tumultuous year to reflect, and to regroup on a new blueprint for aid and development post COVID. 

Through this conference we wish to: 

• role-model localisations and partnership, 
• help define transformation, and 
• explore how we can improve resilience. 

Participants will be a combination of INGO CEOs, MFAT staff, politicians, CEOs of sector partners (i.e. partners from businesses, academia, and CRIs), staff from our member organisations, interested members of the public, and students. 

If your organisation is interested in facilitating a CID Member session at the CID Annual Conference on 26th October 2021, we would love to hear from you! This opportunity is open to all CID Members, and is a chance to present and share collective challenges with representatives from across the sector. Please fill in this form with an outline of your proposed session idea. Sessions will provide a collaborative, active learning environment for the participants. Participants will leave with skills, knowledge, or materials that they can use in their own practice or work. 

Fill in the Expressions of Interest form here.