Moroccan Youth Make Protective Masks for Local Hospital Staff fighting coronavirus
London, April 6, 2020 (AltAfrica)-A group of Moroccan civil society youth in Azilal, a city in the Beni Mellal-Khenifra region in central Morocco, have engaged in the national efforts against COVID-19 by producing 280 protective masks for the local hospital staff in the frontline against COVID-19
A product fabricator at Fablab Casablanca, Mohammed Rahmo, collaborated with the founder and president of Azilal Young Development Leaders, Khalid Ibn Elbachyr, to launch the initiative. The duo took to social media to invite passionate individuals to contribute to the project.
In just two days, Rahmo, Ibn Elbachyr, and five others assembled the protective masks for the hospital in Azilal, surpassing their initial goal of 200 masks.
The team began the project on April 3 by purchasing the necessary material to produce the first model of masks. Rahmo and Ali Lakrakbi, another employee of Fablab Casablanca, showed the team members how to assemble the masks.
The team met the following day and got to work.
“We started work on Friday respecting the preventive measures,” Ibn Elbachyr told Morocco World News. “We kept a necessary distance, cleaning and working in an open space.”
“After four hours of work, we successfully made 280 masks which we handed to the local hospital,” he added.
The team gave the masks to Amin Tahir, a doctor at the Azilal hospital. Tahiri will distribute the 280 masks among the hospital’s medical staff after disinfection, Ibn Elbachyr said.
The civil society leader encouraged Moroccan youth to engage in similar initiatives to combat the coronavirus epidemic in the country.
“We succeeded in this initiative, you can too in your cities across Morocco,” he said.
Civil society organizations have made productive contributions to Morocco’s efforts to combat the novel coronavirus. Several NGOs launched charity campaigns to provide vulnerable communities with essential goods, while others are working to support medical personnel and raise public awareness about the epidemic.
The Chourouk organization and other NGOs in Errachidia launched awareness campaigns against COVID-19 since March 17. The organization explains preventive measures to the citizens while insisting on staying at home.
The Moroccan Center for Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship (MCISE) launched a questionnaire for Moroccan NGOs to share the best practices to combat COVID-19. MCISE invited all NGOs in the country to collaborate and share useful knowledge about the current epidemic.
MCISE also launched a fundraising campaign for NGOs tackling the COVID-19 crisis on March 30. The campaign aims to financially support organizations to combat the coronavirus epidemic with innovative initiatives.
