Dear Juma Community,

 

Will you be there for our Juma Youth in these trying times?

 

At this time of great worry and uncertainty for us all, I sincerely hope that you and your loved ones are in good health.

 

Through what feels like a daily shift in recommendations, news, and our “new normal”, what really hits home for me is looking at the effects of this pandemic on our 500 Juma Youth.

 

While we hope for the best, there is a high likelihood that our youth could be out of work through the end of May, possibly even later. Many of our young people need their Juma income to live. Some use it to help their parents pay for rent and keep food on the table. Others need it to pay for rent themselves or to support their own children. To all, not being able to work and earn an income brings great hardship. For a group of young people who were already experiencing significant challenges even before the pandemic, the impact is very real.

 

Anticipating venues will not open before June:

500 Juma Youth have lost their main form of employment.

Each week of the pandemic represents $37,000 in lost wages for these young people.

The combined amount of youth wages lost will be $412,000.

Youth will lose a combined 31,000 hours of work and training, invaluable to their professional development.

 

We have a plan in place but need your help to put it in action.

 

During this time Juma will offer stipends to youth to stay engaged with virtual programming so they will continue to learn necessary skills for when the jobs come back, such as adaptability, problem-solving, and communication. This will allow our youth to remain connected to our staff and their Juma community, and to keep learning. In addition, we are aiming to provide our youth at least $50 per week for a total of $500 over the coming weeks.

 

Today, perhaps more than ever, we are hoping we can count on you to make a donation to support these young people for whom work is not currently an option.

 

Thank you,

Adriane