As the future of American reductions in foreign aid is evident, the same goes for efforts to answer

With most programs funded by the American agency for international development Cut and the remaining staff of the agency said that their job would end by September, the reality of the Trump administration Suddenly stopped at over 60 years of international development The work has flowed.

The billionaire presidential advisor Elon Musk, who directed the Load to dismantle USAIDcalled the agency criminal and corrupt. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said many programs had not advanced American interests. The administration continues to cancel the programs, including humanitarian and food aidAnd said it would be Roll all the remaining programs in the State Department.

Two months after the start of the cups, some workers and organizations, who have once led these programs, develop a variety of initiatives to stand in the violation left by the dismantling of American foreign aid.

Directly money to dismiss workers

Laura Meissner has worked as an entrepreneur for USAID since 2010 and specialized in humanitarian assistance, especially programs that give people directly in need.

In early February, a friend approached her to help start a fundraising for other USAID workers who, like her, had lost their jobs. Usaid Employee 10,550 people In Washington and offices around the world, with about half from other countries.

Meissner and a small group of organizers have finally set up The Solidarity Fund With the Greater Washington Community Foundation, which will actually grant subsidies directly to the former workers. The subsidies will start at $ 650 and increase according to the size of the household.

“We want to make a sufficiently significant amount of it for this to make a real difference in their ability to buy grocery products, to pay for medical bills, to pay the rent or the mortgage, or to keep the lights,” said Meissner.

Until now, the fund has collected about $ 16,000 of 140 donors and has already recommended 10 candidates to receive funds.

“It is so easy to feel that nothing you can do because there are so many big problems and I have the impression that they happen suddenly. But all count, even if it’s just for someone,” she said.

Research to help foundations and donors with more money

Even for people who study international development, it was difficult to understand all ways American cuts have had an impact The field. The reflection group rethinks priorities, which prioritizes the profitability of charitable interventions, studied the gaps created by the cuts to help donors respond.

They graph Show how American funding was in a given area and encourages donors to consider how urgent cuts will be felt. They also suggest that donors consider if the others could fill the gap.

Tom Vargas, principal researcher to the reflection group, said that he hoped that research would help: “Distributing money in a way that made sense. We finance things that other people will not finance. ”

They hope that their research influences donors, large and small, while recommending to give emergency funds.

Fund bridge to obtain money from programs that could still work

In a month following the break on USAID programs, a number of non -profit organizations began emergency fund To obtain money from rescue programs or stabilize organizations that are otherwise closed. Even the World Food Program, the United Nations agency that responds to conflicts and famines, has started a fundraisingHoping to bring back $ 25 million to American donors.

Until now, emergency funds have collected between several hundred thousand dollars to more than $ 3 million, mainly individual donors, and some have already granted hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The funds went to a Yemeni organization that provides emergency food suppliesto send In cash directly to people fleeing violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo, to a Kenyan organization which supports people living with HIVand a control program Malnutrition in Ethiopia.

Support of organizations to close or merge

The amount collected by the Pont Funds does not approach To replace the dozens of billions of people lost in American aid discounts.

Many international development organizations, even those that have not received any funds directly from USAID, are faced with existential financing shortages, said Blair Glencorse, founder and CO-PDG of Accountability Lab, whose organization has followed the impact of American cuts.

More than a third of the non -profit organizations that responded to their survey said they had less than three months of funding.

“The start data said that it would be there now that the organizations will fall from a cliff,” he said. “And that’s exactly what we are starting to see.”

Its organization has heard more than 70 non -profit organizations, mainly in the world South, which want to explore the merger, rotation of programs, liquidation or partnership to try to prevent the loss of their most precious assets. These assets could include employees, goods, systems, contacts or intellectual property.

Glencorse said they believe it will cost between $ 30,000 and $ 50,000 for each transaction or merger and have brought together a team of experts, who can help organizations. They obtained funding for foundations for the ” Partnership counterpart serviceAnd believe that they have between 6 and 9 months to help non -profit organizations to bring these major organizational changes.

“The snowball effect is really starting to resume at this stage,” he said about the cascading impacts of the American discounts of foreign aid.

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