Low-income households in Bangkok and Thai farmers and fishermen – especially those who rely on daily wages – whose livelihood and source of income were severely disrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand needed to be supported with sustenance and life essentials in order to sustain themselves.
The solution was to directly deliver care packages, which contained sustenance and life essentials, that not only helped provide the vulnerable communities with life essentials and support their livelihood for more than one week but also helped struggling local producers in Thailand by sourcing products directly from farmers and fishing communities as part of care package assemble. Hence, a double-the-deed effort with one project and a national campaign.
Within 7 weeks, the CoLIFE team collected almost 2 million Thai Baht (USD 67,000) and distributed 3,883 care packages to over 3,883 families, consequently providing 116,490 meals and impacting the lives of 15,532 people. To multiply the effect, the CoLIFE team assembled these care packages using locally-sourced agricultural products from Thai farmers and fisherman (purchased over 800 kilograms of fish and over 14 tons of rice) whose livelihood has also been disrupted as domestic demand decreased and international tourism demand plummeted to virtually zero as Thai borders closed in early 2020. The project was hatched as a quick response to help support affected victims.
The project was a great success. What started with cold calling potential partners and sponsors, ended with 26 influencers, 6 partners, and 4 large corporate sponsors including Beiersdorf, Charoen Pokphand Group, Laemthong and Siribuncha.