Diaconal work during the Covid-19 crisis

This paper is about the impact of the protecting measures during the Covid-19 pandemic on the practice of diaconal organizations in the Netherlands. Inviting representatives of these organizations to focus group sessions, we asked them about their experiences during the crisis. Our purpose was first of all to get a view of whom, according the them, were affected mostly by the measures that were taken. We presumed that sensitivity to people in need, listening to their voices and being solidary are hallmarks of a diaconal perspective. Secondly, we were interested in what way the diaconal organizations responded to the need of the people involved in their projects and communities. By asking them these questions, we expected to get some insight in specific characteristics of a diaconal approach in times of crisis like values, principles and strategies. We presumed the identification of those characteristics would help us to reflect on the identity of diaconal approaches.