Here is an update from Muhammad Bachrun Bustillo, Founder of Borneo Football
Life in Kalimantan is still difficult. The Coronavirus crisis seems to be far from over and positive cases have been increasing gradually according to government reports.
The economy has been affected badly and I would say that everyone is having problems to secure an income.
After visiting more than 2,000 families in the area our BFIA staff confirmed how this crisis is affecting particularly the poor. Public schools have been closed for weeks, many people lost their jobs and right now their main priority is to find food.
Until now we have been able to get support to assist many families but we are not sure for how long if things don’t improve. BFIA team still keeps working hard and is in good spirits and optimistic but the future is uncertain.
BFIA activities in the areas of sports, health & nutrition and education have been adapted to the current situation and we keep in close contact with all our beneficiaries from the training centers and schools.
We encourage the practice of sports and football at home providing sports material and online tutorials. Additionally, we are distributing educational material for arts and our BFIA Basic English Course.
Borneo Football staff is working hard to reduce the local spread of the Covid 19 and despite stringent salary cutbacks, the staff are still motivated to support, mentor, and monitor the well being of the children and many families in need.
In continuation of the present work, which may be considered as the Initial Phase and to better help the community, the Borneo Foundation is preparing an Action Plan to respond to the present situation, and to prepare for the future.
As the world economy suffers from the continuing emergency situation, foundations are faced with dwindling donations and grants. Although Borneo Football still has committed supporters, funds are limited – and decreasing. Looking for new funding is a challenge because the competition is strong amongst the finite number of institutions and resources.
It is clear that the Covid-19 crisis represents a big challenge for all of us but we at Borneo Football think that in these kinds of situations we as Subud members can make a difference in the world.
Hope we all can walk in that direction and let’s pray that we all can survive this difficult test.
Muhammad Bachrun Bustillo
Watch this video: Kalimantan Covid-19 Prevention and Response Program