Throughout this semester, nothing has affected each and every aspect of our lives more than COVID-19. However, when looking at the issues that our clients in Trinidad and Tobago have had to endure, I feel lucky. At the drop of a hat, organizations such as schools, corporations, and even churches were able to shift their lifestyle to a virtual format in an effort to stay connected in the United States. As students, we were able to continue learning in a safe, socially distanced fashion that would allow us to stay on track to move forward towards our careers. As employees, though many were not fortunate in this regard, some people were able to continue to earn a living as their jobs shifted to an online format. People were even able to get basic necessities virtually as the growth of online-based firms opened up the opportunities for people to order groceries, clothes, and a whole lot more online and have them shipped directly to their doorstep or a “contactless” location. When I look back on the changes people in the United States were able to make so quickly to continue to move forward without missing a beat, I am truly amazed. 

Unfortunately, as many of the aspects of our project with DORCAS Women’s Group and NatureSeekers have shown, the people of Trinidad and Tobago have not been quite as lucky. The digital infrastructure that we, Americans, run our lives through on a daily basis is not nearly as plentiful for Trinidaddians. Once you move outside of the main cities and urban areas of the country, internet connectivity is hard to come by. Organizations such as DORCAS Women’s Group and NatureSeekers have been hit especially hard by this lack of infrastructure as they are located in relatively remote areas especially since their missions are centered around holding physical meetings and events that will train people in the areas of conservation and economic growth. Without the ability to reliably meet even in a virtual setting (many of the lockdown restrictions are still in place due to a lack of vaccines), these organizations are struggling to make the impact that they have historically been able to make.

Some of the areas of NatureSeekers’ and DORCAS Women’s Group’s operations that have been most impacted by COVID-19 are as follows: the ability to communicate, the ability to organize events, and the ability to bring in revenue. As I mentioned above, with the restrictions in place, general fear of contracting the virus, and lack of digital infrastructure, communicating within the organization and spreading each organization’s mission has been very challenging. In terms of event organization, both nonprofits have been unable to legally hold any in-person events and given the communication issues that persist, organizing these events in the first place can prove to be an even bigger issue. In terms of COVID-19’s effect on NatureSeekers’ and DORCAS Women’s Group’s revenue streams, the pandemic’s negative impact on each organizations’ funding has had a ripple effect on their operations and mission. During our interviews with board members from NatureSeekers, we found out that besides grant funding, which is a long and strenuous process, the organization relies on jewelry sales, donations, and ecotourism to fund their operations. However, due to the pandemic all of these have been decimated over the past year. Due to restrictions and a lack of an online store, NatureSeekers has been essentially unable to sell their jewelry. The two largest markets they typically sell in, Christmas and Carnival markets in the city, have been closed for over a year. Despite their social media accounts having a relatively large following, the organization relies on its ecotourism to fully introduce potential donors to their mission and impact in the Matelot area. Without these tours to display their impact, donations have dropped, not to mention the organization has been unable to collect revenue for the tours themselves. Regarding the ripple effect I mentioned previously, the lack of revenue going to these organizations also limits the impact they can make. As of now, each organization already makes an amazing impact on both the community and environment of Matelot. However, for their efforts to expand and continue, both will need the pandemic to be controlled as soon as possible.

Over the course of this semester, our team has faced many of these issues as we work with NatureSeekers and DORCAS Women’s Group. Through the semester we have had issues connecting with members of the organization virtually do to their digital infrastructure. When we have been able to meet with them, the connectivity issues typically make it difficult for both parties to understand what the other is discussing or asking. Luckily, we have been able to come up with a solution: using email to confirm our notes from each meeting. While it isn’t necessarily the most efficient way of conducting an interview, this has proved to be the most effective for our team this semester.