Meet the mask heroes of the lockdown

Two women got busy making and distributing free masks for people in their neighbourhoods

The fresh guidelines issued by the Union Home Ministry on Wednesday makes wearing of masks mandatory for anyone stepping out of home. With masks running out in stores, Visakhapatnam-based dietician Usha Gajapathi Raju, who is also part of the NGO Diabetic Child Society, released a DIY video where she demonstrates in simple steps on how to make a mask at home. It was necessity that drove Usha to it. When she was attending a patient from Odisha suffering from cough and cold, she was unable to get her hands on a mask. She decided to make her own mask and released a DIY video on her YouTube channel Ushodayam. Usha’s DIY video has garnered a lot of attention on social media as it mentions easy steps to make the mask and also the right way of wearing it.

Usha Gajapathi Raju on her terrace garden in Visakhapatnam
 
| Photo Credit: K_R_DEEPAK

Usha also found that the sanitary workers and apartment caretakers who were vulnerable to greater risks were working without masks. With leftover cloth she had at home, she stitched and distributed some masks to the workers on her street.

Her NGO has a database of 250 diabetic children from Visakhapatnam and its neighbouring districts. "Diabetic children belong to the high risk group. It is important for parents to understand that every time they step out to fetch groceries or vegetables, they are increasing the exposure for their children back home . While social distancing and hand washing are paramount, wearing masks is as imperative," says Usha. She and the others in her NGO counsel the parents of the children who have diabetes on taking extra care during lockdown.

Putting her skills to good use

Far away from Visakhapatnam, in Gurgaon, another lady garnered 20,000 likes and 3000 retweets, that was even retweeted by NITI Aayog’s official twitter handle. All because her son Akash Takyar tweeted a picture of her sewing masks! The 62-year-old Twitter sensation Gulshan Takyar decided that instead of sewing clothes for her grandchildren, she will use all the fabric she had and make masks for the poor and the homeless in her neighbourhood.

Gulshan Takyar at her home in Gurgaon
 
| Photo Credit:
Special arrangement

“When I learnt about the shortage of masks and how some people were selling them at exorbitant prices, I knew I had to put my sewing skills to better use. I spent two or three days learning the basics from YouTube videos and then made a few samples. My masks are made of cotton and have three layers. Until now I was using elastic bands to make ear loops but since I have run out of them, I’ll be using strands made of cloth,” she adds. Gulshan spends almost six to eight hours everyday cutting the cloth and sewing those into masks.

Not just Gulshan but her husband, son and daughter-in-law also pitch in. They wash and santise the masks before distributing them. The first batch of 60 masks was distributed in the surrounding localities. Now, the family is gearing up to give 300 masks to an NGO which plans to take them further.

Says Gulshan’s son Akash, “After I tweeted, appreciation poured in from across the country. Several people reached out to us asking about the kind of cloth and the pattern that my mother used. I uploaded the pictures of her notes so that everyone could make these at home.”

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