The second year of the pandemic has been difficult for Southeast Asia with sharp increases in cases and deaths. Social protection efforts have been insufficient to meet the growing needs, with communities and civil society groups maximising their efforts to fill the gaps with their limited resources.
To support these essential community-based efforts, the nonprofit organisation SEA Junction has launched its Small Grants Program known as "Staying Resilient Amid The Pandemic In Southeast Asia" since June 2020. With the support of the China Medical Board and additional contributions from other institutional and individual donors, this three-year programme provides strategic support to grassroots and civil society groups to strengthen community resilience, enhance their capacity to cope with the current situation, and address equity concerns related to the pandemic.
In the last two years, SEA Junction has selected and provided grants to 36 activities in different locations of Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Timor-Leste, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam. The activities cover a wide range of issues and subjects related to the Covid-19 crisis, including but not limited to the environmental dimensions of the pandemic, online education and digital literacy; the role of arts and culture in Covid-19 response; and addressing increased gender-based violence.
As the need is great and response to the last call was enthusiastic with over 170 submitted applications, this year SEA Junction is looking for donations to increase the budget available for the next batch of applications. Any contribution, no matter the amount, will go a long way towards mitigating the impacts of Covid-19.
Donations can be made via money transfer to the TMBThanachart Bank account name Foundation for Southeast Asia Studies, account number 043-7-18114-2. Deposit documents that include names and purposes should be sent to southeastasiajunction@gmail.com.
