Doctors, nurses, ambulance drivers, researchers, and all those involved in the medical field are giving their all — in some cases, their lives — as Indonesia experiences its first wave of the deadly COVID-19 crisis. Stories about overworked doctors, inundated hospitals, and lack of medical supplies have been coming out with quite depressing regularity in Indonesia, as is the case in many other parts of the world.
Those of us who have the privilege to remain at home and wait out the outbreak can do our part to help.
Here we’ve put together a list of trustworthy charities that are working to get funding, medical supplies and assistance to those in the frontlines of the fight against COVID-19. If you know of any more that you think we should add to this list, please email us at jakarta@coconuts.co.
Kitabisa
Several donation drives have been set up through crowdfunding platform Kitabisa, and organizations and those with a platform have come through in a big way.
Influencer Rachel Vennya has, as of the morning of March 24, collected IDR6.87 billion through a fundraiser that she set up on Kitabisa. The money is going to pay for medical supplies such as face masks, hand sanitizers, and gloves for healthcare workers at hospitals designated to treat COVID-19 patients. In addition, the money is also going to be distributed to informal workers, such as market vendors, so they are able to stay at home during the outbreak.
Adib Hidayat, the Editor-in-Chief of Billboard Indonesia, has also set up a fundraiser to procure supplies for healthcare workers, and has been able to raise IDR1.28 billion on Kitabisa.
Kompas Gramedia media group is among private companies who have set up fundraisers on Kitabisa, raising IDR443 million as of this morning.
Dompet Dhuafa
Local charity organization Dompet Dhuafa has launched a COVID-19 fundraiser, with the money collected going to help pay for hospitals to buy medical supplies, cover the daily needs of families in isolation because of the coronavirus, as well as for disinfection of public areas.
Palang Merah Indonesia
The Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) has established a fundraiser for medical response against COVID-19. The organization is collecting money to help train healthcare workers to perform detection tests for the coronavirus, as well as to help fund ambulances, logistical distribution, and psychological counseling, among others.
http://donasi.pmi.or.id/donasi-siagapandemi/
Unicef
The UN’s humanitarian aid and child development agency has set up a donation line to directly aid healthcare workers in Indonesia, mainly through the provision of medical supplies.
In addition, Unicef is working to ensure that Indonesian children have access to TV, radio, or the internet so they are able to study from home during the coronavirus outbreak.
Shopee
Having already collected IDR1 billion in donations and distributed the money via Palang Merah Indonesia, Singapore-based e-commerce platform Shopee is now raising funds for the procurement of 1 million face masks, which will be distributed for free to the public.
Tokopedia
Indonesian e-commerce platform Tokopedia, through its philanthropy arm Tokopedia Salam, is working with a number of charity organizations to provide various protective gear to healthcare workers directly involved in treating COVID-19 patients. By March 23, Tokopedia has raised IDR1.2 billion — an incredibly huge amount given the fundraiser was only launched on March 19 — and has begun distributing aid to healthcare workers.
US$1=IDR16,448 (March 23, 2020)
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