Zimbabwe unemployment as high as 80% amid pandemic

Over 26 million Americans are out of work because of the coronavirus. Their livelihoods have been upended. Fortunately, many have options to help them at least in the short term. They have savings. They can file for unemployment. There’s a stimulus check on the way.

There’s no safety net, though, for the unemployed in Zimbabwe.

Your gift today will provide lifesaving food and other aid to families struggling to survive in Zimbabwe and beyond. And thanks to a matching gift by World Help Board members, your gift will DOUBLE.

Now, every $8 you give is enough to help TWO people in desperate need!

The exact unemployment rate in Zimbabwe has always been hard to pin down. About half of the population is self-employed as street vendors, and many people work as subsistence farmers, rarely growing enough crops to sell. Amid the coronavirus pandemic, though, one thing is certain — almost everyone is out of work. And families are starving as a result.

Our Zimbabwe partner estimates that a staggering 80 percent of people are unemployed!

The country has been on lockdown since the end of March, and the deadline was recently extended until at least May 3. That means businesses aren’t operating. People aren’t working in fields and farms due to social distancing orders.

“Survival for most Zimbabwean people is equivalent to $1,” our partner said. “The lockdown leaves the masses unprepared, without enough food and medical supplies.”

Imagine if you lost your job today. Chances are, you still have a pantry, fridge, and freezer stocked with food.

But these people have nothing. They don’t have extra food items to stretch over the days ahead. Their cupboards are empty. They were living day to day, paycheck to paycheck. Now, with no source of income, they don’t know where their next meal will come from.

A few workers such as miners and manufacturers have been allowed to return to work to avoid the economy from completely collapsing, but the majority of people remain jobless.

Our partner noted that the street kids and disabled people who usually survive from begging have been hit even harder. Almost no one in Zimbabwe is in a position to help them right now.

So, if you are able, will you help them?

When you give today, you’ll provide families with food, medical care, and other lifesaving aid. You’ll help save their children from starvation. You’ll supply them with hygiene items to help protect against the virus. And so much more.

These people are thousands of miles away, but their needs are just as great during this global crisis. In fact, the needs continue to grow every day.

“We have cases already of people who are fleeing the city life to hide in the rural areas,” our partner said, “and thereby spreading the virus to the rural population.”

Now, the people living in those rural areas now face a potential outbreak … in addition to crippling poverty. That’s why your support has never been more critical!

So far, our Zimbabwe partners have been able to distribute food to 137 families in the most desperate situations. They’ve also provided hand sanitizer and soap to police officers, nursing homes, and children’s homes.

But the needs are still incredibly great. That’s why Zimbabwean families and other people living in poverty need YOU.

For as little as $8, you can provide urgent, critical aid to two people around the world. Plus, your doubled gift will also send emergency food to out-of-work families here in the U.S. and hygiene kits to high-risk seniors.

You can help fight this deadly virus. You can help starving families survive while they are out of work.

These people are scared. They’re praying for a miracle.

Will YOU be that miracle and help those in need around the world?

Every $8 helps TWO people