As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, the Cycle Connect team is offering weekly updates in the form of “Last Mile Dispatches in 3, 2, 1”, a weekly blog post that highlights the 3 most telling data points, the 2 most important decisions, and the #1 most informative story that we are hearing through our work on the ground in Uganda during COVID-19. Tune in every Friday.
May 15th, 2020: Digest in 3, 2, 1
The 3 most telling DATA POINTS:
265M – the number of people projected to face acute hunger by the end of this year according to this NYT article. If we don’t act, a hunger pandemic looms.
297 – households who received emergency input or tilling loans, with another >200 in the pipeline. This new emergency product ensures families have the resources they need to put food on the table during COVID-19 and beyond.
5 – the number of partners who have joined us in our response. Our partners have made us– and the communities we work with–ever more resilient and now is when our team feels that most. Special shout outs to Yunus Social Business, Peery Foundation, Pace Able Foundation, Mighty Ally, and OneDay.
The 2 most important DECISIONS:
1.Continue to evaluate the need- to assess if we carry our Emergency Seeds + Tilling loan into the next season in July. We’ll be keeping tabs on the situation to analyze the need as well as our own internal capabilities.
2. Collect data from our team- being data-centric applies to our team, not only our clients. Remote working is hard and a new challenge for all. We went to our team to hear from them.
The #1 most informative STORY:
Cycle Connect Clients, like Eunice Oyella, need to plant now in order to prevent hunger for their family and communities.
Eunice’s family is one of the hundreds of rural households our team reached out to who expressed that she was struggling to put food on the table due to the lockdown in Uganda. With markets closed and public transport shut down, Eunice needed access to seeds fast to provide for her family of 8.
After speaking with Eunice in March, Cycle Connect Credit Officer, Alex Opio, was able to register her for our emergency tilling + seed loan. This week, Eunice received her seeds + tilling services from Cycle Connect which consists of enough maize seeds for four acres and tilling services to help her clear an additional two acres of land.
Over the next few weeks, our team plans to distribute this new loan product to hundreds of rural families who are struggling in the face of COVID-19. Support our response by donating today.
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