Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. Please follow the guidelines issued by the WHO and your respective countries agencies and help in the effort to contain the spread of the Corona virus.
When a crisis hits, many of the people who work in NGOs immediately want to kick into action mode. We are conditioned to be there for others and to help. But the Corona crisis is different. It might require a very different path of action for many. Like the German chancellor Angela Merkel said last week: In times of Corona, keeping your distance is the greatest proof of love. And this might be true for many NGOs as well.
Before you start planning your emergency response, ask yourself very honestly:
The number one goal is to slow the spread of the disease, so the action is quite limited anyway. There are a couple of questions that you should ask yourself before you start doing anything in this crisis!
For anything you do, you should always follow the guidelines provided by the WHO!
Look at the strengths of your organization and decide if you can be of any help. If your focus is not on health, your role might be to be an important player in the aftermath of the crisis – not right now. Dealing with the immediate threat of the virus is step 1 – there will be many more steps to come before we can talk about recovery.
You have to keep in mind though that you have to be a role model! The bravest decision now is to stay home if you realize you cannot help directly. Your first instinct might be to act quickly, but that might not be the best step. Really sit down as a team and ask yourselves – can your organization really help, or would it be better to make sure that your employees and beneficiaries stay out of harm right now and wait it out? Now it, not the time to play heroes. It is the time, to be honest, and understand where each and everyone’s role is in this development.
If you decide that you don’t have the capacity to do anything right now, that does not necessarily mean you have to shut down. You might have to do so temporarily, but you can still continue fundraising and preparing for the aftermath. At some point, the worst will be over and people have to pick up their lives again, and that is where many NGOs will have to play their big role. The better prepared you are, the more you will be able to help then.
As an NGO, the first people you have to think about are your employees and the beneficiaries. Can you do anything to keep them safe? Is there any way you can get information to them, without endangering them? Even if you cannot help in the current situation, it should be your goal to not make it worse either. You have to do all you can to keep infections amongst your staff and beneficiaries as low as possible.
The first step should always be to identify vulnerable members of your staff. Corona seems to have a worse effect for people over 60 and people with preliminary conditions, so make sure that staff members from those groups stay at home first. Make sure that your staff and beneficiaries understand that these people need special protection in these times – and also make sure that they themselves understand!
Working from home – if possible, at all – should be a thing that you should consider as early as possible. Sitting together in an office all day – even if you take other precautions – is a very common way to spread the virus. You can start setting up everything to make the home office available even before the virus hits your country. You will have to make sure your employees have access to an internet connection; you can take their laptops and have all the other material they need. You can even start to conduct virtual meetings instead of meeting in person! If you think it through as early as possible, it is not as difficult to start your emergency plan when it becomes necessary.
Also read: Getting your workplace ready for COVID-19
I would guess that 99% of organizations out there will have to change their program to reflect the new reality during 
this outbreak. Make sure that you are prepared for that and think about options and necessary steps as a team – but discuss in a virtual meeting. Your normal program will be disrupted if it depends at all on human contact, and most projects do.
Many NGOs rely on meetings, workshops, and gatherings for their mission – but this will not be an option in the future. Is there any way for you to reach beneficiaries digitally to avoid that they have to get together? Maybe canceling your program for a while is the solution. Don’t put others at risk and put the safety of your staff and beneficiaries at the top of your agenda.
Be prepared though that many will not understand your actions at first. The earlier you act, the better the results, but this also means that you have to act before the main problems become evident to everybody. Make a solid plan and stick to it, even if beneficiaries or staff members complain and tell you, you are overreacting.
There are certain rules now, that will also keep changing. Make sure you follow reliable news sources (and share them with staff and beneficiaries) and follow those rules. Keep your distance, wash your hands, stay at home as much as you can. If you feel any symptoms, immediately self-quarantine and inform others – it can be crucial to stopping the spread of the virus. Avoid fake news and make sure you only follow reliable sources, especially on Social Media where this stuff spreads like – well, like a virus.
Remember, not every person and every organization is in a position to help right now. The best move right now might be to temporarily shut down, send people home to safety and wait until recovery starts. Whatever decision you take, make sure you, your staff and the beneficiaries stay as safe as possible.
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We have launched this online course where we want to give some tips for small to middle-sized organizations for how to prepare for a crisis – in this case, the corona crisis. There will be needs in a couple of weeks that you have to fulfill and your work can make a huge difference in your community. Make sure you are prepared as best as you can to have the maximum impact. In this course, our experienced expert Erik shares his knowledge with you and gives you important tips on how to get through this crisis. It will cover the following topics:
You will also receive a resource guide with important information about how to prepare your organization for this crisis and a list of potential donors that we will update daily.
Best of luck getting through this crisis and stay healthy!
Eva is based in Germany and has worked for nearly a decade with NGOs on the grassroots level in Nepal in the field of capacity development and promotion of sustainable agricultural practices. Before that, she worked in South America and Europe with different organizations. She holds a Ph.D. in geography and her field of research was sustainability and inclusion in development projects.
