It was on my heart to start a program to provide masks to the community, as the majority of the Papuan people already struggle with compromised immune systems and sickness.
The effects of COVID-19 have even reached our remote mountain town of Wamena in the heart of Papua. As the government began measures to combat Corona virus, our town quickly ran out of masks, sanitizer and other items, just like the rest of the world.
At the same time, we heard that the local hospital here had no personal protective equipment; not enough masks, no gowns and no face shields. A friend of mine and myself reached out to our friends for donations and they responded immediately. My friend’s husband is using his 3D printer to make face shields. I work with local tailors to make masks and gowns. We now have four tailors working on this project! As of May 11th, we have produced and distributed 3000 face masks. In addition, we have given the hospital 101 hospital gowns and 20 face shields along with 300 face masks.
Many nights my girls and I stay up attaching tags to hundreds of masks. Each mask gets a tag with the instructions to clean it each day with soap and hot water and to dry in the sun along with an encouraging verse: “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” We pray that the masks will save lives.
Amanda
Amanda and her two little daughters attach the tags to the masks Happy recipients of face masks Masks made of Indonesian batik Face shield and gown made of batik fabric
