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They refer to themselves as the "lifeboat crew". Following losing their jobs when international support faced cuts earlier this year, a group of dedicated professionals decided to establish their own support program.

Declining to "remain in despair", an ex-staffer, along with like-minded past team members, began efforts to save some of the vital initiatives that were at risk after the reductions.

Now, nearly eighty programmes have been rescued by a connector platform operated by the leader and additional ex- aid staff, which has obtained them more than $110 million in fresh financial support. The group behind the Pro program estimates it will benefit forty million people, including many children under five.

After the termination of operations, funds were halted, a large workforce was let go, and international programmes either ended suddenly or were left limping toward what Rosenbaum describes as "final deadlines".

The former staffer and some of his colleagues were reached out to by a philanthropic organization that "wanted to determine how they could make the best use of their constrained funds".

They built a menu from the cancelled projects, selecting those "providing the most vital support per dollar" and where a alternative supporter could feasibly intervene and continue the work.

They quickly realised the demand was wider than that first entity and began to reach out to additional possible supporters.

"We called ourselves the emergency squad at the start," states the economist. "The ship has been collapsing, and there aren't enough lifeboats for every project to board, and so we're striving to actually save as many babies as we can, place as many onto these rescue options as possible, via the projects that are providing support."

Pro, now working as part of a global development thinktank, has garnered backing for seventy-nine initiatives on its selection in over thirty regions. Three have had original funding restored. Nine were not able to be saved in time.

Financial support has come from a blend of charitable organizations and affluent donors. Many prefer to stay anonymous.

"The supporters stem from diverse backgrounds and opinions, but the unifying theme that we've encountered from them is, 'I am shocked by what's unfolding. I sincerely wish to find a method to intervene,'" notes the leader.

"I think that there was an 'aha moment' for everyone involved as we commenced efforts on this, that this opened up an chance to shift from the ice-cream on the couch, wallowing in the distress of everything that was happening around us, to having a constructive endeavor to fully engage with."

A specific initiative that has secured funding through the initiative is activities by the Alliance for International Medical Action to provide services including nutritional rehabilitation, maternal health care and essential immunizations for kids in Mali.

It is vital to maintain these operations, says Rosenbaum, not only because resuming activities if they stopped would be extremely costly but also because of how much trust would be lost in the conflict-ravaged areas if the group pulled out.

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

Projects with extended objectives, such as bolstering healthcare networks, or in other fields such as schooling, have remained outside the project's focus. It also does not aim to save the projects indefinitely but to "provide a buffer for the organizations and, frankly, the wider community, to figure out a permanent resolution".

Now that they have obtained funding for each programme on its first selection, the team says it will now concentrate on assisting more people with "established, economical measures".