Covid Response: Gibraltar
Supporting our community in Gibraltar during the pandemic
Since 2008, Kusuma Trust Gibraltar has worked with charities, community organisations and people that are making a positive difference to Gibraltarian society. When the pandemic hit, we responded with grants to support the community’s health, wellbeing and education.
Helping with healthcare
Similar to the UK’s NHS, the Gibraltar Health Authority (GHA) provides medical and mental health care for the community. In April 2020, we gave a one-off grant of £10,000 to support the GHA’s work to fight COVID-19. The money will help buy additional medical equipment and PPE for those working on the front line.
Keeping education going during lockdown
When schools closed during lockdown, the transition to home learning needed to be as smooth as possible – especially for pupils studying for their GCSEs. We gave a grant to the Department for Education to fund one year’s subscription to GCSEPod, an online home learning resource for 15 and 16 year olds. It will help students continue to develop the skills they need and transition more smoothly into their next year of education.
- We gave a series of grants to support health, wellbeing and education across Gibraltar during the COVID-19 lockdown.
- Our grant funded four weeks of meals on wheels for 72 older people in Gibraltar.
- We helped Childline Gibraltar cope with a 126% increase in calls compared with a similar period last year.
Helpline for children and young people
Lockdown has put huge pressure on young people, exacerbating problems at home and meaning some are a greater risk of violence or abuse. That’s why we wanted to help make sure Childline Gibraltar could continue with their vital work supporting children and young people, as well as offering support to parents. Alongside an increase in the number of calls, the charity had to cancel their two biggest fundraising events.
Our grant of £16,852 meant the Helpline could still open for four hours every day between 5 and 9pm between April and June. During that time, the charity answered 185 calls on the Helpline – a 126% increase in the number of calls compared with the similar period last year.
Caroline Carter Olivero from Childline Gibraltar said: “We greatly appreciated Kusuma Trust reaching out to us in our time of need. The grant was pivotal in ensuring that we funded the Helpline during lockdown.”
Supporting older residents
Protecting older people during the pandemic meant strict restrictions on their movements. Many older people were confined to their homes completely and needed help with meals. The Care Agency, a government body providing social services for the community, was on hand to provide them. Their meals on wheels service delivered a hot, homemade meal each day to people who couldn’t cook for themselves and didn’t have family members on hand to help out.
Our grant of £9,233 meant 72 older members of the community could receive a hot meal every day for four weeks.
More Success Stories
Covid Response: Education
Covid Response: Outdoor spaces
