D2N is contributing to the reconstruction and repurposing of Brilliant Detroit's newest community house in Islandview (pictured above) as well as to Avalon Village's Music Camp. Listening sessions have started for our Community Health Worker Program in Detroit and listening sessions have started for our Girls' Menses Program in Nepal.
Both our newest program in Detroit (read about it on our website and in Crain's) and our latest COVID Relief efforts in Nepal rely on Female Community Health Workers.
Check out what D2N accomplished in 2021.
In 2011 DTE removed all street lights from Highland Park; Soulardarity, one of D2N's partners, is working to install solar-powered streetlights throughout the city. D2N worked with Soulardarity and Avalon Village to place one of five new, smart, solar-powered streetlights in Avalon Village. Installation took place in early July; the streetlights will also serve as a WIFI hub for a few-block radius. Also taking place in Avalon Village this summer - Music Camp.
As of a few days ago, 1331 COVID tests have been completed in Khotang. 117 tests were positive; three of these patients were placed in the isolation ward set up by D2N's partner, Janesewa. There have been no deaths.
A second wave of COVID has hit Nepal incredibly hard. As they did for the initial wave, our partner, Janasewa Samaj, has quickly developed a plan to help the community. They have purchased medical supplies including test kits, PPE’s, oxygen and medicines and have set up the isolation COVID ward at their community hospital. Testing has begun in about ten villages. Click here for information on D2N's COVID Relief Initiative in Nepal.
In Detroit, Buckets of Rain’s raised beds continue to make their way to Parker Village and Avalon Village; the growing season has begun.
As Buckets of Rain dismantles their raised bed garden on Glendale Avenue in Highland Park, their founder, Chris Skellenger (pictured on right, Parker Village Farm Manager, Ryan Hennessy, is on left,) is moving more than 350 of the raised beds to Parker Village and Avalon Village, where they will continue to provide fresh produce for Highland Park residents and continue the Clinic to Farm to Table program at the S.A.Y. Detroit Family Health Clinic. Click here for information about volunteering in the Parker Village gardens.
In Nepal, more than 2200 people attended five mobile health camps and the Makpa Health Post is nearing completion.
As challenging as 2020 was, the year reinforced two constants for D2N - we are most effective when we support small-scale, community-driven programs and we are consistently amazed by the overwhelming kindness and generosity of our donors. In Nepal our COVID Relief Initiative continues and the Makpa Health Post and Birthing Center is well underway. In Detroit our COVID Relief Initiative also continues and we have added a new member to the D2N family - Original Mother's International.
Click here to read our latest newsletter.
Our COVID Relief efforts in Detroit continue and have become the catalyst for a joint effort between the Highland Park City Council and HPC3, whose goal is to not only respond to the current crisis, but to create a more sustainable and resilient community. In Nepal our response has just begun. As in Detroit, we are addressing economic and health issues brought by the pandemic. We are grateful to be able to do this work.
Building upon the early efforts to address the COVID-19 crisis in Detroit, D2N has funded a relief package which provides education, food and water security, reliable information, COVID-19 testing, mental health counseling and energy assistance. As with all D2N projects, we asked the communities we would be working with what their priorities were and how they wanted to address them. The result is The D2N Detroit COVID-19 Relief Initiative.
