Thanks Bodhi and Tito, do you perhaps have some models of non-profits that have done something similar? It's a bit hard to picture what would be the appropriate criteria and scope of such a support program.
Best, Richard (User:Pharos) On Thu, Apr 22, 2021 at 1:57 PM টিটো দত্ত Tito Dutta <trulyt...@gmail.com> wrote: > Hello, > Thanks for sharing the thought. I agree that there is a necessity to > seriously think of the support, and taking necessary actions. Very rarely > we face such a threat directly affecting so many people. This is an > exceptional situation, possibly needs exceptional measures (there was a > thread/open letter on Wikimedianindia-l: > https://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikimediaindia-l/2021-April/014955.html > ) > > A few countries are badly affected. I believe other than the main > pandemic, the simultaneous and post-pandemic socio-economic difficulties > will be a huge problem. Other than the humanitarian aspect of it, this will > have a direct impact on important areas like editor onboarding, editor > retention, educational and institutional partnership etc. > > I feel, possibly a COVID-19 (support) committee can be set up soon? > > ইতি,/Regards, > টিটো দত্ত/User:Titodutta > > > > বৃহস্পতি, ২২ এপ্রিল, ২০২১ তারিখে ২:৪১ PM টায় এ Bodhisattwa Mandal < > bodhisattwa.rg...@gmail.com> লিখেছেন: > >> Hi, >> >> COVID-19 has hit hard in India again making it the leading epicentre of >> the disease caused by the new mutated strains. The infection and death >> tolls have reached record high and the health system in different parts of >> the country is on the verge of collapse. >> >> Like other common people, many Wikimedians might have lost their jobs >> last year. Like last year, this year too, many volunteers have been >> infected and hospitalised. Some of them have lost their family members, >> relatives, friends and other dear ones. >> >> Volunteer online community is the heart of our movement and every >> dedicated, experienced and long-term volunteers are our most valuable >> asset. It is not at all exaggerating to say that many language Wikimedia >> projects or WikiProjects are dependent completely on one (or two or >> three...) person's persistence to build it as a tall building from scratch >> and if we lose some of those people, those projects might totally stop >> forever. There are so many fantastic people in the movement who have been >> doing incredible work in their volunteer capacity for such a long time >> (sometimes more than a decade) to make what Wikimedia is today. >> >> I would like to urge people with power and money in the movement to find >> a way to protect these assets. We not only cannot afford to lose them, but >> also need to proactively protect them. Maybe a small step to provide >> personal or family COVID-19 insurance might help a lot. Maybe sending money >> to buy COVID-19 vaccines might save some of them. Who knows? >> >> If we can spend millions of dollars for conferences or a couple of >> hundred thousand dollars to celebrate 20 years of Wikipedia during >> Wikimania, can we not spend a few thousand dollars to protect at least some >> of the people around the globe to some extent who made it possible to turn >> Wikipedia into its 20th birthday? >> >> Disclaimer: I had tried to convince the grants team from my personal >> capacity last year when COVID-19 was spreading rapidly in India but was >> denied due to their legal concerns regarding insurance registration as >> well as settlement and liability issues. Few others tried to convince them >> too but failed. I am reaching out to the community to start a conversation >> this time and find a way together. >> >> I am sorry for my long mail. I could not help it. >> >> Regards, >> Bodhisattwa >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: >> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and >> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l >> New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org >> Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, >> <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe> >> > _______________________________________________ > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l > New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, > <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe> >
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