TREAD News Update May 2020

Greetings from all at Friends of TREAD. We hope you are all safe and well. You will probably be wondering why you have not been hearing much from us recently.
The removal of our large partners Compassion from India in 2017 has left us with a financial hole even at the reduced level of operation. The last few months have been exceptionally difficult for TREAD with a number of changes needed in the management of our Indian partner charity in order to cope and this has been exacerbated in recent weeks by the COVID lockdown, which has been strictly enforced in India. 
The lockdown has resulted in all our projects being closed since the last weeks of March. We have been helping and monitoring the provision of food and other necessities for the children and their families to supplement some provision by the Indian government for some people.  We have also made provision to pay the wages of the staff as they are not covered by any government schemes. They have been employed in doing maintenance and cleaning work in addition to preparing ground to enable the growing of crops on our sites. The managers are working on plans and vision for the future. The Grace tailoring staff have been making face masks.  The ability to travel, distribute aid and buy non-food items has been severely curtailed so the team can only do things that are safe and approved by the local magistrate. All the orphans and Grace students are safely at home with families and carers. The orphans are receiving their normal support and we have arranged for the Grace students to receive some financial help.
There have thankfully been very few cases of COVID in their remote areas, although we understand that the inaccuracy of the reported figures and lack of testing may be a factor.  News from Hepsi our administrator on Sunday 3^rd May
Latest news on Corona in Telangana. Total corona virus case stand at 1061. Fifteen cases reported in Hyderabad as on 3^rd May . Total cured cases in Telangana now at 499. Death toll at 29 in the state.  Four Corona cases in our Bhadradri Kothagudem district have been discharged from hospital after treatment. The community of the Trinity day care village Kudunuru is well.
Total COVID – 19 cases in Odisha home of the Sarah and David centres  jumped to 157. Recently 8 cases have been confirmed . One COVID  patient also recovered. Total cured cases now at 56. There are no positive cases in our Malakangiri district.
Chhattisgarh home of the Hannah centre had a total of 37 cases , of which 32 had recovered . The remaining  5 are in hospital and are showing signs of recovery.  With no deaths , perhaps the best rate of recovery in the country (over 86 % ).  In Sukma district there no corona cases.

We appreciate that so many of our supporters are providing for services that are presently closed down but we are striving to maintain support for  the children and staff whilst also reserving funds so that we have sufficient in the bank  to maintain and improve services over the next few months. Many thanks to all our regular supporters for their patience and loyalty and for your valued prayers at this time.
Our trustees David and Tricia Owen with Jerry Dart made a short visit to Hyderabad in India in early March just before the lockdown and narrowly missed the possibility of being stuck in India !   They held meetings with the Tread India trustees including the two new ones, the director and managers. They were joined by Pastor Matthew of the larger similar Goa based El Shaddai charity, who is now acting as a consultant and adviser to us and the Indian Trust. The objective was to carry out some fact checking and a review of all the activities to assess the cost effectiveness and quality of management of the projects, as we struggle to make ends meet. There will need to be some changes and cost savings with new budgets being constructed for approval by us and them. Matthew is arranging for independent financial audits and also an extended operational audit using one of his ex staff, who lives nearby our Odisha based centres. 
Some of this has been overtaken by events with the COVID lockdown but hopefully will put things on a stronger footing in anticipation of the lifting of restrictions and the arrival of the “new normal”, which has featured so strongly in our lives and the media recently.
If all goes well, we will have more positive news to report in the future
Blessings and thanks.
The trustees of Friends of TREAD