What Our Global Team Members Will Remember from 2021

2021 was another difficult year for the world’s health. Every day, our team members worked around the world to continue the fight against COVID-19 — responding to surges, increasing access to vaccines, and providing information to reduce vaccine hesitancy. But they also continued our essential work supporting health care workers as they tackle the health challenges that don’t stop during a pandemic.

Even in a challenging year, there were countless moments, events, people, and partners that left an imprint and made a mark on us. Selfless health workers who opened their homes to patients when hospitals were destroyed, indigenous communities who received information on COVID-19 for the first time, young girls who were given the support to find their voices as agents of change.

These moments reminded us that in the face of challenge, there is always resilience. In crisis, there is always hope.

Here’s what our team members will remember most from 2021, and what we’ll be carrying with us into the year ahead.

The vaccine we’d all been waiting for

“2021, as weird as it was, will be remembered for good. What will stay with me for a long time is the excitement, joy, and happiness of having a COVID-19 vaccine available for everyone and (at that moment) the belief that we were at the end of the pandemic. I remember participants of the vaccine training coming to us saying that not only did we change their own minds on getting the vaccine, but that they would be advocating for it among peers, family, and friends.

“I want to take into 2022 the same energy, enthusiasm, and willingness to continue the fight against misinformation, vaccine hesitancy, and access to vaccines. If we can’t find solutions to these, we will stay in this gray for much longer than we want.”

– Vlatko Uzevski, Regional Manager, Balkans

>> See Photos: Inside India’s Fight Against COVID-19

Heroic health workers in Haiti

“What stands out most about this past year is the deployment to Haiti. There was one health facility we were working at in Duchity where the clinic had been completely destroyed and the nurse who ran the clinic was operating out of her home in her own living room. Every time we visited with medications and clinic staff to support her, the clinic was packed. Nurse Natasha worked tirelessly for her community, and advocated for them as well, sharing what resources she and her community needed with us. She is a remarkable woman and it was an honor to meet her and work with her.

“I will carry with me into 2022 the knowledge that we are all the same — some of us were just lucky to be born in places with more opportunity and access to things like education, safety, and health care. But we are no more deserving than anyone else. I will continue to work toward a more equitable world — one where we all have equal access to life-saving medicine, safe schools for our children, and an opportunity to provide for our families.”

– Cora Nally, Country Director, Bahamas

>> Voices From Haiti: ‘I Cannot Hold Anymore’

Unwavering resilience in the face of COVID-19

“Just when we thought 2021 would be dramatically different from 2020, we saw more COVID crises looming. As our emergency response team responded to the Delta outbreak in India and Nepal and our team worked from home – some of whom have still never met in person – to ensure that our story was being told and our fundraising efforts to do our critical mission didn’t falter, I saw so much resilience in our capacity to stay strong and focused.

“Into 2022, I bring hope for a better year. Hope that more of the world’s countries will have access to vaccines, that more people will get vaccinated, that there won’t be any more dangerous variants. I think the other thing I will take is just how strong we all are. In the face of adversity, we can adapt and pivot as needed — that’s resilience.”

– Cinira Baldi, Vice President, Chief Development and Communications Officer

>> Read More Coverage of our COVID-19 Response in India and Nepal

Our dedicated partners

“In 2021, I had the amazing opportunity to work with three hard-working humanitarian assistance consultants and three local NGOs in India to respond to the outbreak of COVID-19. Project HOPE’s dedicated and compassionate corporate and foundation partners stepped up to provide much-needed funding to meet the needs and save lives. As of now, hundreds of pieces of oxygen-related medical equipment and thousands of pieces of PPE have been purchased and placed in primary health care centers across the country. When I see the pictures of the health care workers and patients whose lives have been saved, I am proud of what our team accomplished together.

“Working together with others to save lives and help people to live happier, healthier, and safer lives, regardless of ethnic, religious, and other differences in backgrounds is what I’ll take with me into 2022.”

– Barbara Smith, Senior Program Officer

>> Read More: Project HOPE, Airlink Rush COVID-19 Support to Nepal

The global need for mental health support

“The implementation of the mental health and resilience training project was an eye-opener on how common the need for mental health support is for health care workers worldwide. The implementation is ongoing in 30 different countries all around the world and health care workers participating in all of the trainings are expressing equally the need for high quality, accessible, and efficient mental health services.

“Going into 2022, I am extremely grateful for and proud of all the programs Project HOPE is implementing to support health care workers and the general population. I am more determined than ever to put mental health on the map of priorities and to work toward decreasing stigma and increasing promotion and prevention activities related to mental health.”

– Rawan Hamadeh, Associate Project Coordinator for Mental Health Programming

>> Learn More: Mental Health Awareness is Important. But Funding is Imperative

Reaching rural and indigenous communities

“A very important moment in 2021 was in June, when we re-enrolled in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs after 21 years. However, we had already started work in Ecuador to help train more than 2,500 people in the prevention of COVID-19 and this was translated into two indigenous languages, Kichua and Shuar.

“An indigenous woman who studies nursing at the university said that her rural community had never before received information on the prevention of contagion in their native language. This will help them reduce COVID-related deaths, especially among elderly people who do not speak Spanish and did not understand the contagion. Now this project will be replicated in two other countries: the Dominican Republic and Honduras.”

– Ramiro Proaño, Team Lead, Ecuador

>> In Ecuador, COVID-19 Trainings Connect Indigenous Groups to Care

Celebrating and supporting young women and girls

“On International Day of the Girl, we participated in an amazing global event called #GirlsBelongHere that involves young girls in decision-making processes with business leaders, called takeover sessions. This was a tremendous and beautiful experience. I’m thankful that I was able to interview all of the participants after their takeover sessions and capture their impressions and experiences.

“We need to listen to the young women we work with and create these kinds of spaces where they can raise their concerns and needs. Working on this project reminded me how important it is to work as a team with other organizations and partners and to create alliances and build strong platforms for young leaders, so they can know they belong in the workforce and they can achieve whatever they want to achieve in life. I would like more participation opportunities for young leaders in 2022.”

– Yarishdy Mora, Country Director, Senior Project Manager YHP México

>> Hear More From a Member of Our Program in Mexico: ‘Women Can Change The World’

Expanding our footprint

“One of the most memorable moments I had was the day I started work with Project HOPE. I was excited to take on this new challenge and meet the new Zambia team. We are a small team and had no office and nothing in place to kickstart program activities, but everyone was committed to making it happen.

“My proudest moment came in May when acquired office space, set it up, and started full operations by June. In 2022, we’ll build on our gains from this year, and ensure Project HOPE Zambia is well known as a partner of choice for global health.”

– Chilobe Kambikambi, Country Representative, Zambia

>> Learn More: Will We Achieve The UN’s 95-95-95 Goals for HIV/AIDS?