Rhodes University Community Engagement (RUCE) has partnered with Facemasks4Makana to launch a campaign urging Makana residents to help make 1000 masks for children aged two to six years old.
Learners in Makana are set to return to schools and other childcare spaces soon. These learners will require masks that fit them properly, as many already available masks are mostly suitable for adults.
In Makhanda alone, there are about 78 Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres that fall outside the parameters of the formal education system who therefore won’t receive Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) from the government.
The need for these ECD centres and their learners to be protected led to the launch of the Makana ECD Masks campaign, a collaboration between RUCE and Facemasks4Makana.
“Although children are less susceptible to COVID-19, all of them need to be adequately protected so that they do not carry the virus into their communities where there are vulnerable members such as grandparents or family members with co-morbidities,” said Community Engagement Coordinator, Anna Talbot.
To distribute the masks, RUCE will work with their ECD partners’ site managers and the local ECD forum who will, in turn, hand out packs to families. A pack will include a story about COVID-19 (how it’s spread, how to prevent spread etc), a child mask, some information on data-free educational resources and a story in their mother tongue.
Patterns for the masks are available on RUCE’s social media pages or contact Anna Talbot on a.talbot@ru.ac.za if you would like the patterns emailed to you or require more information about the campaign.