At the heart of all trauma or incidents, even the COVID-19 pandemic, there is always a financial impact, which could be devastating for the individuals, companies and organisations concerned. This impact affects victims and secondary victims irrespective of their status, race, culture or any other demographic denominator.  

In most cases, it is impossible to make enough provision, and to brace for the impact and the aftermath of trauma.

We started this year with a lot of enthusiasm and hope of what this year will bring. Hoping and praying that 2020 will bring us breakthroughs that was not happening in the past decade. This hope was short lived.

The following relief funds have been made available to date. You will have to study them, and see which ones are relevant to your specific circumstances:

1. The Department of Small Business development announced a number of interventions for small businesses including a Debt Relief Financing Scheme and Growth Resilience Facility. The COVID-19 interventions measures include: SMME Relief Finance Schemes, Business Growth and Resilience Facility, Restructuring of SEFA-funded loans and Informal Sector address. Register your business online to begin the application process.
2. The Solidarity Response Fund was one of the first safety nets put in place to aid small businesses and people in need during COVID-19 and the 21 day lockdown. Johann Rupert’s fund, the Sukuma Relief Programme, to which he pledged R1 billion received over 10 000 applications in three days and has since closed for applications.
3. The South African National Taxi Council (SANTACO) have launched a R3.5 billion COVID-19 relief fund. This fund will compensate workers in the industry.
4. The Youth Business Relief Fund “will assist youth entrepreneurs from operational costs, paying labour costs, rental”. Apply online here. 
5. For people working in the tourism industry, a COVID-19 Tourism Relief Fund has been put in place. Applications are open, apply online here.
6. Direct funding application links:
   • Black Business Funding Solution
   • National Empowerment Fund
   • COVID-19 SMME Relief Funding
   • Sports, Arts and Culture Relief Fund
   • Business Growth and Resilience Facility
   • Debt Relief Finance Scheme
   • SEFA Debt Restructuring Facility
   • Industrial Development Corporation package
   • SAFT Employer Relief Fund (Only employees to benefit limited to R750 per week for 15 weeks and it). Each of the four banks is responsible for administering SAFT applications on behalf of their own customers, please contact them directly.
   • Agricultural disaster support fund for Smallholder and Communal Farmers
   • Spartan Relief
   • IDC COVID-19 Essential Supplies Funding
7. Major banks like FNB, Standard bank, Nedbank, Capitec, Investec and Absa have set up payment holidays and relief schemes to assist clients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Please contact your bank for more detail on their requirements.  

A summary of all help available is available on: https://www.fundinghub.co.za/covid19-resources

Aquilla Financial Solutions is available to be of service.

South African detail about COVID-19

All of a sudden many people find themselves in an unaccustomed and disconcerting workspace. Home!

Your new workspace can be filled with very busy “colleagues” and distractions. On the other side you may be totally isolated and alone, which can be equally distracting. Working from home is certainly not everyone’s cup of tea.

The involuntary quarantine causes many mental health issues to surface, because we are social beings. This is even true of the self-proclaimed introverts, because people need social interactions. We don’t realize the value of the interaction and exchanges between colleagues during the course of a normal working day.

The issues that can come to the foreground from being forced to work from home in the midst of a world-wide pandemic are:

• The change in your mind-set from “living” to being in survival mode. This shift in mind-set is the clearest in people binge shopping for so-called essential goods, leaving shop shelves empty. The empty shop shelves aggravates the feelings of anxiety and despair. People who cannot afford to stock pile are even more anxious, because their situation turns out to be more hopeless.
• Increase anxiety takes a toll for the worse on your health. Stress and continued anxiety erode your wellbeing and leave your general immune response wanting.
• Working from home can decrease your job and financial security. In the process where decentralization wins ground, people’s fear for becoming redundant increases.
• The increased sense of insecurity leads to feelings of hopelessness and helplessness.
• In reality it becomes more difficult to distract oneself from existing mental health issues and this promotes social withdrawal and loneliness.
• On top of all these reactions there are the fear for the lives of loved ones. We do not know how safe, our children, elderly parents and loved ones working in emergency and medical services are.
• Many people also do not know how loved ones are doing when they work somewhere outside the country.