British actor Idris Elba and his wife Sabrina Dhowre have set up a $40 million relief fund to help those amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Elba and his wife recently recovered from the virus and say their lives were turned around following the diagnosis.
Though they had mild symptoms, the thespian says the experience was “definitely scary and unsettling.”
The actor who played the Asgardian Heimdall in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, spoke with the Associated Press last week, saying:
“You know, everyone is sort of feeling the way we have been feeling, but it has definitely been sort of just a complete upheaval.”
Elba is of the opinion that there are life lessons to be learned as the pandemic reminds us that the “world doesn’t tick on your time.”
“I think that the world should take a week of quarantine every year just to remember this time. Remember each other. I really do,” he said.
In their chat with the Associated Press, the actor and his wife Sabrina revealed that they have begun pushing with the United Nations (UN) to lessen the impact of COVID-19 on farmers and food producers in rural settlements.
“People forget that 80% of the poor population live in these rural areas”, stated Sabrina.
Elba added, “What we are really worried about at the moment, and why we are launching this fund, is that those people are being forgotten.”
As UN Goodwill Ambassadors, the couple has collaborated with the United Nations International Fund for Agricultural Development to launch the $40 million fund.
Elba believes that people in poor areas are likely to suffer more in during these trying times.
He spoke further:
“If you imagine being in a village where no one even knows the name of your village or your population, and that you live in a slum where there is one room and six of you live in it, social distancing is almost laughable.”
