Dear Friend,
We trust you are not just surviving but thriving in this age of coronavirus. Forgive us for not being in touch since our last newsletter, shortly after the start of the pandemic. As you’ll appreciate, this evolving virus has kept us busy, busy, busy…
ILLNESS
In many countries, criminal courts are crippled by the virus and civil unrest is growing. Maddeningly itchy scabies runs rife in increasingly overcrowded cells not designed for long-term detention. Prisoners’ chronic health problems fester untreated.
Our response? A telemedicine service delivered over Zoom. We reach into police and prison cells, regularly in the Philippines and as required elsewhere in the world. Our medical expertise is donated free of charge. Yet as the service grows, our Filipino staffing and medical interventions are costing us more and more.
HUNGER
Even outside of a pandemic, many countries can’t afford to feed their police detainees yet those in prison do receive a basic food allowance. The pandemic has seen a massive rise in the number of police detainees.
Our response? Since the start of the pandemic, many thousands of hot, nutritious meals served up within Philippine police stations. On rare occasion we receive donated foodstuffs such as this 200 kilograms of mackerel. Still, this pandemic initiative is costing us a huge amount every week. Meanwhile coronavirus eats away at our usual sources of income.
DANGER
Pandemic or no pandemic, prisoners’ children are often especially vulnerable - children like this little girl whose mother had become our patient in a Philippine police station.
Our response? When concerns are raised, our Philippines staff go and investigate. If necessary, our social worker takes action. This particular child was found with her special needs sister and two brothers living in a slum on a rubbish dump, surrounded by a thriving sex industry. With their mum’s agreement, we took the two girls to a care home run by one of our local partner organisations. They are now safe and well. Many more remain at risk.
CRISIS
As you have read, we have found a silver lining within the COVID-19 cloud. It has afforded us humbling opportunities not only to continue serving but also to grow in a manner that is responsive to the pandemic.
Unfortunately though, the ongoing nature of the pandemic is about to kill us off. It has ripped apart our long-established finance model of generating commercial income to cover humanitarian expenditure. All of our pre-pandemic UK-based commercial work has now gone. We desperately need financial help whilst awaiting conversion from not-for-profit UK company to registered UK charity. After that time we will be able to claim giftaid and apply for charitable grants.
Our response? Asking for your help. For the first time ever, we are having to put out a general appeal. We need at least £6,500 per month or else we won’t live to see our tenth birthday next summer. Right now we don’t even have sufficient funds to see in the New Year. Our giving page contains examples of how we could put different sized donations to great use. We’re also grateful for new volunteers as well as prayers from people of faith.
However you choose to respond, thank you for your continued interest in Integritas Healthcare, the Christian faith-inspired organisation with a heart for detainees of all faiths and none. Please feel free to share this update with anyone you consider suitable and trustworthy.
Wishing you a safe and peaceful build-up to the Christmas holidays.
Dr Rachael Pickering & Dr Lavinia Miries
Chief Medical Officer & Chief Operations Officer