Dr. John Garang International School turned into Face-mask Production Centre
“There is a need for more coronavirus awareness to be done all over the country because we have realized that our people are ignorant about the disease itself alone and raising awareness about COVID-19 is important. Some people are exchanging their face masks and that is dangerous.”
By Sheila Ponnie
The Dr. John Garang International School has been turned into a Face-mask Production Centre.
Addressing people at the lunch Friday, 4th Vice President for gender cluster and Garang’s widow Rebecca Nyandeng said 75 local tailors and twenty other staff were hired and are producing about 35000 facemasks per day at the Dr. John Garang International School Face Mask Production Center.
Nyandeng said the school would also be used to sensitize people about the coronavirus pandemic which people have been ignoring out of ignorance.
“We have a distribution team that delivers these masks to vulnerable people in communities where social distancing is a luxury. Since May, the facility has also distributed over 50,000 facemasks to South Sudanese.” Said Nyandeng.
Despite the adverse impact of COVID-19 on the country’s already fragile economic situation, the face mask production has turned into job opportunities for some tailors whose jobs were affected by coronavirus pandemic in Juba.
The facemasks production is an initiative that would help to combat Coronavirus in the country, according to the vice president.
“This initiative is designed to kill two birds with one stone, we are not only combating the virus by producing these face masks, but we are also Stimulating the economy by hiring local tailors who were adversely affected by the lockdown,” Nyandeng said.
She says although the novel coronavirus is claiming preys in the country and all over the world and keeping some people indoors due to its escalation which is causing fear and mass confusion, the outbreak has some positive to some individuals in South Sudan.
However, the Vice President said although many people continue to benefit, there are adverse challenges. Hence, “we are knocking on all doors looking for donations of any kind to ensure this initiative can continue to help those in need.” She added.
The vice president urged individuals to do whatever they can in their capacity to curb spread of COVID-19 in South Sudan.
The Minister of Youth and Sports, Albino Bol Dhieu stressed that the production of facemasks alone is not enough to fight coronavirus in the country due to people’s ignorance about COVID-19.
“There is a need for more coronavirus awareness to be done all over the country because we have realized that our people are ignorant about the disease itself alone and raising awareness about COVID-19 is important,” said Dhieu
“Some people are exchanging their face masks and that is dangerous,” he added.
There are now 2, 211 confirmed COVID-19 cases in South Sudan with Juba leading in the cases as the virus spreads to the rural areas of South Sudan. 45 people have died and 1, 175 others recovered since pandemic broke out in the country in March this year.
However, the private Sector Representative Gordon Kyomukama, CEO of MTN telecommunication company, believes producing face masks while sensitizing people to wear the masks would make a huge difference.
A number of youths are taking up the initiative to mobilize, inform, educate and distribute facemasks, hand sanitizers, washing soaps and buckets to citizens.
Among these youth are the 2019 Mandela Washington Fellowship alumni who are collaborating with the US Exchange Program Alumni members to disseminate Coronavirus preventive measures to different communities leaving in South Sudan in different languages to enable them to understand more about the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2019 Mandela Washington Fellowship Alumni distributed facemasks, hand sanitizers and hand wash buckets in Gumbo Sherikat Saturday to vulnerable people like the elderly and the sick to mark the #MandelaDay2020 celebrations in South Sudan.
Kiden Zaida Ibrahim, an alumnus of the US State Department of State program said she won’t be like most youth who are used to instigate violence in South Sudan. She said it would be more useful if they emulated Mandela and did what they can to promote peaceful co-existence of all communities in South Sudan.
“Mandela was a freedom fighter and he fought for people’ rights, for equality, for integrity and for accountability. that’s what we want in our country. We may not have apartheid policy, but we have divisions of all sorts in the country and we need peace.” Ibrahim told The Insider.
The Mandela Day is commemorated every year on July 18, 2020 and the Mandela Washington Fellowship Alumni organization in South Sudan celebrated it under the theme: “How can I contribute to prevent COVID-19?”
The fellowship alumni activities are supported by the US Department of state in collaboration with the US Embassy in Juba, South Sudan.
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