The COVID-19 pandemic signaled an end to my peace building initiative in Kisumu County, as the government banned gatherings and non-essential movement. As an organization working with young women by supporting and promoting their role in peace building activities, the Women Volunteers of Peace Organisation thought of something to do to help people stay safe.

 

As cases increased in Kenya, the government put a directive for Kenyans to wear face masks whenever in public as a preventive measure against the spread of the pandemic. However, the majority of Kenyans live below two bucks a day thereby spending USD 0.8 on face masks wasn't attainable. This led to cases of harassment by police officers enforcing this preventive measure.

 

In order to help make masks more accessible, I teamed up with women volunteers to design and tailor cloth face masks. I was supported by tailors in a local market who provided a workshop for use. For the purpose of community ownership, we called for donations of fabric and other resources required and the result  was pure love and support. To date, we have distributed over 25,000 masks for free to disadvantaged and vulnerable families including children, street vendors and the elderly.