A few months ago I was walking through a Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh. It was scary, exhilarating and
overwhelming all at once, but I’m pleased I was there to see conditions on the ground, and to better support our project
leaders who work in these vulnerable communities: densely populated, slum-like living conditions with no healthcare or
clean running water, mean that securing refuge doesn’t equal a secure existence. I was there on the invitation of Eve, a
project leader of my organisation, Just Peoples, a Kiwi charity that sources funding for grassroots locally-led projects
around the world that tackle local poverty.
Through my work, I’m immersed in the at-times opaque world of international development, NGOs and charities. I’ve lived
and worked in Vietnam, Philippines, Singapore and now Japan and have witnessed the everyday cruelties and injustices
people face, the structural inequalities that hold them back, as well as incredible resilience of people to the
challenges that life throws at them.
In short, I see the need around us. I see the millions without water, without education, without a clear reason to do
their best in life, knowing that it won't get them anywhere. Covid-19 has thrown up a further huge set of challenges,
and both frustratingly and understandably, has seen people avert their attention away from important global issues as
they deal with problems closer to home.
I get this and it’s totally understandable. Like thousands of Kiwis, I have whanau and friends worried about losing
their jobs, anxious about their child’s schooling, frightened for vulnerable elderly relatives. I feel immensely
grateful that New Zealand has the resources, political will and general kindness to achieve zero Covid-19 cases while
supporting vulnerable people in New Zealand.
However, I see the need. The Rohingya people I visited in Bangladesh are severely at risk to Covid-19 which has arrived
in force and is spreading through the refugee camps. The massive typhoon Amphan that recently hit the region further
complicated the situation, making protecting themselves, let alone recovering, incredibly difficult for people there.
At a time when Kiwis have been so kind to each other and are rightly able to celebrate emerging out of the pandemic,
please don’t forget that you can make a massive impact by supporting people outside New Zealand as well. Covid-19 is a
global issue and we need to support each other when we can.
Kiwis are kind, generous and solution focused. There are so many inspiring people around the world solving urgent
problems, and our project leaders in Bangladesh are brilliant examples of this. They are providing hospitals with PPE,
delivering food parcels to people without food, and diverting resources to rebuild houses that were destroyed by the
typhoon.
New Zealand you are doing a great job. As the world protests and cries out for genuine equality, justice and compassion,
now’s the perfect time to look outside New Zealand and lend a hand to the global community that needs us.
Christey West is the cofounder of Just Peoples, a not for profit that makes it easy for people to contribute directly to
the global issues they care about.