They call themselves as the "salvage squad". Following being let go when international support underwent reductions earlier this year, a team of dedicated workers opted to launch their own rescue package.
Choosing not to "dwell on sadness", a former economist, along with similarly motivated ex-colleagues, began efforts to preserve some of the vital programmes that faced closure after the funding decreases.
Now, nearly eighty initiatives have been saved by a connector platform managed by the economist and other former aid staff, which has obtained them more than $110 million in new funding. The group behind the resource optimization project program calculates it will benefit forty million people, encompassing many young kids.
After the termination of operations, financial flows stopped, thousands of employees were laid off, and international programmes either ended suddenly or were left limping toward what Rosenbaum calls "final deadlines".
Rosenbaum and a few co-workers were approached by a charitable entity that "aimed to determine how they could make the best use of their constrained funds".
They built a selection from the ended initiatives, identifying those "providing the most critical assistance per dollar" and where a alternative supporter could feasibly intervene and continue the work.
They quickly recognized the need was wider than that initial organization and commenced to approach further funding sources.
"We dubbed ourselves the emergency squad at the outset," states the leader. "The ship has been sinking, and there are insufficient lifeboats for every project to get on, and so we're striving to truly rescue as many young children as we can, get as many on to these rescue options as possible, via the projects that are offering assistance."
Pro, now functioning as part of a global development thinktank, has obtained financial support for seventy-nine initiatives on its selection in more than 30 countries. Several have had original funding returned. Several others were unable to be rescued in time.
Financial support has come from a blend of non-profit entities and affluent donors. Most choose to be unidentified.
"They originate from varied motivations and viewpoints, but the shared sentiment that we've received from them is, 'I am shocked by what's unfolding. I really want to find a method to step in,'" explains the economist.
"I think that there was an 'eureka moment' for the entire team as we began operating on this, that this created an opportunity to shift from the ice-cream on the couch, dwelling on the gloom of everything that was occurring around us, to having something productive to really sink our teeth into."
An example programme that has found support through Pro is activities by the Alima to offer support such as care for malnourished children, prenatal and postnatal support and essential immunizations for kids in Mali.
It is crucial to maintain these operations, explains Rosenbaum, not only because resuming activities if they stopped would be extremely costly but also because of how much trust would be eroded in the conflict-ravaged areas if the group withdrew.
"They informed us […] 'we're very worried that if we depart, we may be unable to return.'"
Projects with extended objectives, such as bolstering healthcare networks, or in other fields such as learning, have remained outside the initiative's scope. It also does not seek to maintain initiatives permanently but to "provide a buffer for the entities and, honestly, the broader ecosystem, to figure out a longer-term solution".
Having found support for all projects on its first selection, the team says it will now prioritize helping additional individuals with "proven, cost-effective interventions".
