With a state of disaster declared for Victoria after continued cases of coronavirus, everyone must cover their face when leaving home. Many have purchased facemasks from their nearby stores and shops, but one woman in Melbourne has come up with a unique idea.
Highlights
- Facemasks have become mandatory in Victoria and every person living in the state must now cover their face when leaving home
- Soheli is distributing free masks to elderly and vulnerable people
- She is now planning to run sewing classes on Zoom to teach others
Soheli Sunjida is not only sewing masks for herself and family but distributes them to disadvantaged members of the community.
"When the state government ordered to cover the face at the public places, I decided to produce facemask for my family members," she said.
"I had some elastics and fabrics and the know-how to use the sewing machine at home."
Soheli has distributed 350 masks to needy people so far. Source: Soheli Sunjida
Firstly, I made around 12 masks for my family members and friends and received positive responses from them.
“Then, I thought of making masks and distributing them to those people who do not have access to reusable masks and for whom single-use masks are not financially feasible,” she added.
Help from the community
Soheli said that when she went to the shops to purchase elastic and other materials for the masks, she couldn’t find them in the required quantity as most of the materials ran out of stock quickly.
“I did request other people if they can help me with fabrics and elastics. And, I got a good response from other women and social organisations. They helped me with the necessary things to produce the reusable masks” she said.
Soheli Sunjida is seen sewing masks. Source: Shoheli Sunjida
Helping the elderly and vulnerable
Soheli is currently targeting elderly and vulnerable people and those who have lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“People can purchase face masks from their nearby shops, but they may find it very costly”.
Soheli (R) with members of the public Source: Soheli Sunjida
So, I realized the situation and decided to provide masks to the elderly, single parents, pregnant women, school kids, patients and those people who lost their jobs first.
Social media to reach out
A community worker and full-time driving instructor, Soheli took to social media platforms to offer the masks and asked community members for their support.
“I was surprised to see the response I got from the members of the community and received hundreds of encouraging comments within 24 hours.
Soheli gets help from her son in producing facemask. Source: Soheli Sunjida
"My sons and I produce 40 masks a day and have distributed 350 masks to the needy people so far”, Soheli added.
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Look to teach others as well
She will continue to distribute masks free of charge and also looking to teach the required sewing skills to others as well.
"I am now planning to conduct sewing sessions on Zoom so people can make their own masks by themselves," she ended.
