Taejai COVID-19 Sandbox: Community Employment

All the employment opportunities serve both urgent and ongoing needs of the community. There are two types of jobs created during this experiment.

Jobs that are based on existing skills of the employee - cooks for the community kitchen (Yala), community math teachers for kids (Yala), community health volunteers (Klongtoey) 

New jobs created specifically for this project which could also serve as a form of skills development for people in the community - sewing cotton masks (Pattani and Klong Toey) 

Yala and Pattani

In Yala and Pattani, the jobs that serve urgent needs of the community as well as based on existing skills were well received and proved to be of benefit to the community (cook, academic tutors for children). Women and men employed in these jobs had previously been farmers, rubber workers, students, seamstresses, housewives and those employed in the informal sector. More than 90% of participants are female.

1. Cooks - (9) women were provided with rice, eggs, vegetables, cooking oil to make food for vulnerable children in high risk communities.   
2. Vegetable Growers - (37) growers were given vegetable seeds and paid for three days of labor a week. The vegetables will be bought by and used in the community kitchen as well as kept for their own use. 
3. Academic tutoring - (16) high school and university students became their families’ wage earner by receiving daily wages to tutor children in the community. They were supplied with teaching materials.
4. Mask sewing - (27) the results did not meet expectations and Yala has decided to suspend this job for the time being.
5. Other - video-making of educational videos on hygiene and social distancing for the community (3) making of jaggery (sugar) (4) charcoal burning (4). 

Learnings and recommendations from Yala and Pattani

1. Mask sewing did not have good outcomes as the end product was not of good quality; other jobs should be provided. 
2. The jobs that serve community needs give the best result in term of outcomes and positive spillover effect to other vulnerable populations and the community.
3. In addition to providing much needed income, the community organizations observed that jobs have a positive effect on mental health for people employed, especially during this time of hardship.
4. Women feel empowered and garner respect from their family (as they become the main provider of the family) and their community (as they are creating value for people in need in the community).
5. All of those employed in Yala and Pattani said that their earnings were used to buy food for their families (and milk for young children).
6. It is recommended that such temporary part-time jobs be offered for 3 days a week, paying Baht 150 a day as this is the minimum required to support families under stress. (Overall, participants to get approximately 2,000 baht or more to support their household – universal basic income given the context in Yala and Pattani).

Bangkok (Klong Toey community)

A total of 107 temporary jobs, 15 of which were male, were filled as follows:

1. Cut a piece of cloth to be used for mask sewing (13) – our community partner (acting as an employer) provided scissors and other necessary tools for community workers to borrow. Workers got paid 1 baht per pair.
2. Mask sewing (10) – our community partner (acting as employer) provided a working space with two sewing machines available for people to use. Workers got paid 5 baht per mask.
3. Packing of hygiene kits then make face shields (10) – this is the job that can be done for people of all ages and backgrounds in the community. When we started off community employment pilot, the community needed to pack donated stuff as a survival bag to be distributed throughout the community; afterwards, the same 6 workers worked on making face shields to be used by community health volunteers. They got paid 200 baht a day for both tasks.
4. Cleaning the community center (4) – workers were hired to clean the community center, be a community coordinator when donors dropped off stuff for survival pack, and stayed over at the community center at night to look after the survival packs.
5. Community health volunteers (70) – Each visited household to collect their household data for analysis by filling in the form then distribute cotton masks, alcohol gel and advice for households on basic hygiene and preparation for lockdown. They were trained by community health experts and provided with a guideline before going on the field. The data collected is used for resource allocation (survival packs and food coupon) and health risk. They got paid 10 baht for each complete form.

Learnings and recommendations from Klong Toey community in Bangkok

1. All participants were under stress from sudden unemployment. Most are head of their households where their incomes used to provide for the rest of the family. Their previous jobs include hospitality sector, companies’ maid and motorbike-taxi riders.
2. They spent the income from this community employment opportunities mostly on households’ essential expenses such as water and electricity bills and paying loan shark. 
3. The younger people employed, as their parent(s) lost their jobs, use the earning to pay for the outstanding school bill so that they could get a high school certificate. (The school will not let them graduate if students still have overdue tuition debt)
4. Mothers with babies and young kids were employed for tasks they could deliver at home. They feel empowered to be able to earn income for the family, and mostly used their wages on milk and pampers for the kid(s).
5. Elderly worked on tasks that require little education and skills such as cleaning the community center and packing survival bags. Job opportunities offered positive impact on their mental and physical health as they could be a productive force for their family and stay within the community border.
6. Some jobs created during this pilot, though served the needs of people and community at the time, are not sustainable. The demand for cotton masks, for example, has reduced sharply after all the community members were provided with one. It could be more beneficial in the longer term if jobs employed in the next step are align with community needs and market demand in the medium/long term.

Download a PDF file : summary_taejai sandbox 1_community employment_april2020

วันที่ 6 พฤษภาคม 2564 สมาคมเด็กและเยาวชนเพื่อสันติภาพชายแดนใต้ (กลุ่มลูกเหรียง) เปิดครัวลูกเหรียงเพื่อส่งต่อความห่วงใยให้กับชุมชน จำนวน 300 ชุด ทำอาหารแจกจ่ายให้กับผู้ที่ได้รับผลกระทบจากสถานการณ์โควิด-19 ในชุมชนที่ปิดชุมชน หรือพื้นที่เสี่ยงเนื่องจากพบผู้ติดเชื้อและบุคคลากรทางการแพทย์ที่ให้บริการตรวจเชื้อโควิค-19 ในพื้นที่จังหวัดยะลา กลุ่มลูกเหรียงขอส่งต่อความห่วงใยเล็กๆจากครัวลูกเหรียงถึงทุกคนในชุมชน หลายพื้นที่ยังมีความเสี่ยงต้อง ปิดทางเข้า-ออก หลายร้านค้า หลายกิจการต้องปิดร้านเพื่อหยุดเชื้อ หลายคนและหลายครอบครัวต้องหยุดงานว่างงาน จึงทำให้อาหารเป็นสิ่งที่จำเป็นในการดำรงชีวิตของคนในพื้นที่ โดยในวันนี้เราได้จัดสรรเมนูอาหาร 2 เมนู และขนมหวาน อีก 1 เมนู และน้ำดื่ม 1 ขวด ซึ่งเมนูอาหารประกอบด้วย ข้าวสวย ซุปไก่ ผัดพริกทะเล เมนูขนมหวาน ขนมนิบะ และน้ำดื่ม พร้อมเสริฟ์ให้กับชุมชน โดยในวันนี้ ทางกลุ่มลูกเหรียงได้ส่งต่ออาหารไปให้กับ ชุมชนหมู่ที่ 1 และหมู่ที่ 2 ตำบลบาลอ อำเภอรามัน จังหวัดยะลา จำนวน 240 ชุด และโรงพยาบาลสนามยะลา ตำบลบุดี อำเภอเมืองยะลา จังหวัดยะลา จำนวน 60 ชุด 

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