Salvation Army deeds during the Covid-19 pandemic

The spring of 2020 began in a very unusual way. From the beginning of mid-March, when the Covid-19 infection outbreak, the Georgian government has declared the state of emergency and there were the curfew across the country. In this new reality, completely has changed our daily activities, it was forbidden to gather up to three people even for the religious purposes. The Sunday service immediately moved to online service but unfortunately, not everyone had the access to the internet. Local businesses, shopping malls, all economic activities, country borders were closed. Those strict regulations have caused great economic damage to the country, but have halted the scale of the spread of the infection. A large part of the population left without income and it would not be an exaggeration to say that families left without food. The Salvation Army immediately responded to this challenge with small but available resources. Up to 40 volunteers have mobilized from all eight Salvation Army corps; they got online training on how to protect themselves from infection during the voluntary work. Corps officers purchased the essential foods, hygiene items, and provided help to needy families, especially the elderly, large families, and families at risk. It is also worth noting that during quarantine the use of vehicles were completely banned, which made it difficult for corps officers and volunteers to keep helping people. We want to express our gratitude to the Public Defender, whose petition and support gave the Salvation Army the right to drive, and the opportunity to serve more people. About 6,561 people received food aid across the country during lockdown.