As a socially organized species, humans have long provided various forms of formal and informal aid to one another in times of crisis. Our empathy can be triggered by the suffering of others -- particularly others with whom we identify. That empathy can then drive a wide range of pro-social behavior to help others in need.
In Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution, Russian scientist Peter Kropotkin critiques capitalist and feudal systems for defining human order through competition alone despite bountiful evidence of cooperation in the face of a hostile natural environment. Kropotkin does not deny that competition occurs in the face of limited resources, but argues that our natural sociable inclinations towards cooperation and mutual support are underserved by focusing exclusively on the self-interested individual.
The Welcome Alliance is an alliance of civil society organizations, foundations, state institutions and companies initiated by ProjectTogether. Our goal is humane, needs-oriented and sustainable integration and participation of all new immigrants in Germany.
"Sudan Safe Passages, a volunteer group of local and diaspora Sudanese, has built an app called Amen, said Hiba Sharief, a Silicon Valley veteran and senior technology executive at Amazon Web Services. Amen uses crowdsourced data to send real-time updates on secure transport routes and hospital availability." - Damilare Dosunmu
A directory of over 900 COVID mutual aid local groups all across the UK, mostly via Facebook groups, and a backgrounder on what they are and how to start one.