The plight of others is not forgotten even in times of a coronavirus pandemic. This is shown in the 2020 annual report of the aid organisation NAK- Humanitas. Even in this difficult period, its donors did not let the charity down.
“We have a year behind us marked by Covid-19,” Apostle Thomas Deubel writes in the foreword of the 2020 annual report of NAK Humanitas. “The pandemic was omnipresent, affecting our day-to-day lives and the way we live together.” Apostle Deubel is the new president of the foundation. He assumed this task on 1 September 2021 following the death of the retired District Apostle Markus Fehlbaum.
Where does the money come from?
Despite the pandemic, the foundation run by the New Apostolic Church Switzerland received more donations than in the year before. About 1.7 million Swiss francs in donations poured into NAK-Humanitas, an equivalent of about 1.8 million US dollars. About 126,000 francs were donated for a specific purpose. In most cases, donors fund sponsorships or directly support the day-care centres run by the charity.
Where does the money go?
The foundation spent around 125,000 Swiss francs on administrative expenses. The majority of the income, however, went into projects. A surplus of over 260,000 Swiss francs was set aside, so that around six million Swiss francs are now available for current operations and emergencies.
Where did Covid increase distress?
Because of Covid-19 help was needed in many places. The foundation supported a number of projects that were directly or indirectly related to the pandemic. In Switzerland, for example, it provided 20,000 Swiss francs to upgrade the so-called Pfuusbus. This is an emergency shelter for the homeless. “With the addition of a large tent, a shower, and an isolation container for guests with signs of coronavirus disease, the Pfuusbus now complies with Covid requirements and now offers at least 30 homeless people comprehensive shelter at night, in addition to meals, conversation, and a sense of community,” the foundation writes in its annual report.
Abroad, the foundation worked to support families affected by the pandemic, for example in Kenya. NAK-Humanitas supported the association School & Work Aid with 5,000 Swiss francs. This was used to send Covid emergency packages with basic foodstuffs and hygiene products to a total of 150 vulnerable families.
Médecins Sans Frontières teams prepared for a possible Covid-19 outbreak in one of the refugee camps in Idlib in Syria. NAK-Humanitas supported these precautionary measures with 20,000 Swiss francs.
Where else is help needed?
The foundation did not neglect the many other ongoing crises in 2020 either. In Switzerland, for example, NAK-Humanitas donated 10,000 Swiss francs to the visoparents project. The facility supports families of children with multiple and severe disabilities.
After a typhoon destroyed a school building in Bugtong in the Philippines, NAK-Humanitas supported the aid organisation NAC SEA Relief to rebuild the school with 30,000 Swiss francs.
In order to supply the NAK-Humanitas day care centre in the town of Răzeni in Moldova and the adjacent properties with water, the foundation donated 150,000 Swiss francs, half of the money needed, to construct a water tower. It went into operation during the reporting year.
In the report’s foreword, Apostle Deubel pays tribute to his predecessor, the late District Apostle Markus Fehlbaum, and extends a big thank you on behalf of the many people for whom he worked so tirelessly and with such passion. Apostle Deubel also asks the donors for their continued support “so that we can improve the living conditions of disadvantaged people at home and abroad and give them a perspective”.