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The group call themselves as the "salvage squad". Following losing their jobs when international support was slashed in the past months, a collective of devoted workers decided to create their own support program.

Choosing not to "dwell on sadness", an ex-staffer, along with equally dedicated former agency staff, started actions to rescue some of the essential initiatives that faced closure after the cuts.

Currently, nearly eighty projects have been rescued by a facilitation effort run by the economist and fellow past aid staff, which has obtained them more than $110 million in fresh financial support. The team behind the resource optimization project effort estimates it will assist 40 million people, including many young kids.

Following the office shutdown, financial flows stopped, a large workforce was let go, and international programmes either stopped abruptly or were left limping toward what Rosenbaum describes as "termination points".

Rosenbaum and a few co-workers were contacted by a foundation that "aimed to understand how they could maximize the impact of their limited resources".

They created a list from the cancelled projects, pinpointing those "delivering the most critical assistance per dollar" and where a alternative supporter could practically get involved and maintain operations.

They quickly realised the requirement was wider than that original foundation and commenced to approach other potential donors.

"We dubbed ourselves the lifeboat crew at the start," says the leader. "The organization has been failing, and there are too few lifeboats for every project to be saved, and so we're striving to actually protect as many young children as we can, get as many on to these rescue options as attainable, via the initiatives that are providing support."

The project, now functioning as part of a research organization, has obtained financial support for 79 projects on its selection in over thirty regions. Several have had original funding restored. A number were not able to be saved in time.

Funding has originated from a blend of philanthropic foundations and wealthy individuals. Many choose to be unidentified.

"These donors come from very different backgrounds and opinions, but the unifying theme that we've received from them is, 'People are appalled by what's going on. I sincerely wish to find a method to intervene,'" notes the leader.

"I think that there was an 'lightbulb moment' for all of us as we started working on this, that this created an chance to transition from the passive sadness, wallowing in the misery of everything that was happening around us, to having a constructive endeavor to deeply commit to."

A specific initiative that has secured support through the initiative is activities by the Alliance for International Medical Action to deliver care encompassing care for malnourished children, maternal health care and essential immunizations for kids in Mali.

It is vital to continue these initiatives, says Rosenbaum, not only because reinitiating work if they ceased would be extremely costly but also because of how much confidence would be lost in the conflict-ravaged areas if the group pulled out.

"The organization told us […] 'we're very worried that if we withdraw, we may be unable to return.'"

Initiatives with longer-term goals, such as bolstering healthcare networks, or in additional areas such as learning, have not been part of Pro's work. It also is not trying to maintain initiatives permanently but to "buy time for the groups and, frankly, the larger network, to determine a permanent resolution".

After securing funding for each programme on its initial list, the team states it will now focus on assisting further populations with "proven, cost-effective interventions".