This week I came across a Tweet that resonated with me – it’s from Professor Aisha Ahmad from the University of Toronto. She refers to her work in disaster zones and co-relates it with what we’re experiencing now, which she calls the ‘six-month wall’, in that it has been six months since the beginning of COVID-19 for us and we feel like we’ve hit a wall. She reminds us to not try and ram through it, that it will pass, and that in the same way that we learned new ways to shop for groceries, attend school and work, and to be happy, we will continue to learn new ways. We’re in a marathon, and we’ve hit the six-month wall.

And as we hit this wall, we’re also seeing a surge in COVID-19 cases across Canada. Within Christian Horizons, as of yesterday, there is one (1) employee who is currently positive for COVID-19 in one (1) Ontario community. We have no active cases in Saskatchewan.

Christian Horizons Statistics

(Running totals since March 19, 2020)

Provincial and National Statistics

(Beyond Christian Horizons)

Christian Horizons Global

In Guatemala, our team spent the weekend delivering urgent food packages to rural indigenous communities. This supply of dried staple food will help these Mayan families as supply chain disruption and inflation, caused by the COVID-19 lockdowns, have resulted in a hunger crisis. In Haiti, political unrest has risen as there are calls for an election. And in case you missed it last week, I will share again a great profile interview by an Ethiopian news source on one of our local team members. Here’s the link to the article if you’re interested in learning more about this colleague and our work in Ethiopia: http://www.thereporterethiopia.com/article/when-passion-meets-profession.

Take Heart

Yesterday, I met with the Area and District Services Managers across Christian Horizons, along with others, to refresh ourselves and review our preparedness plans in the face of current reports. Please know that above all else, the health and safety of you, our employees, and the people who use the services of Christian Horizons remain the main priority for all of us. We will get through this.

In Dr. Ahmad’s words, “Take heart. We have navigated a harrowing global disaster for six months, with resourcefulness & courage. We have already found new ways to live, love, and be happy under these rough conditions. A miracle & a marvel. This is hard proof that we have what it takes to keep going.”

And we will keep going – together. Please remember to check out the resources page at https://covid19.chconnect.org/. Please also feel free to contact me at dmilley@christian-horizons.org.

Stay safe,

Dwayne Milley

Vice President of Operations​​