As part of measures to curb the spread of COVID-19, the constant wearing of face masks is one of the highly-advised safety measures, alongside the frequent washing of hands with soap under running water.
But in many suburbs of Ghana, there’s little or no adherence to these protocols, particularly the constant wearing of nose masks.
Some persons who openly disregard this protocol cite the discomfort associated with it and the difficulty they experience with breathing freely as reasons for their involuntary disobedience.
Some others, however, attribute their noncompliance to their inability to purchase the PPE.
On the back of this, two non-governmental organisations, Myhelp-Yourhelp Foundation and the Give Me Hope Foundation, came together as part of their mandates to ensure that the less privileged in society who do not have the means to purchase nose masks are protected in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic nonetheless.
The two groups selected Chorkor, a densely populated fishing community, for its attribute as one of the most deprived areas in Accra.
The Founder and President of Myhelp-Yourhelp Foundation, Nicholas Cofie, told Citi News that the two groups came together to distribute a total of 5,000 nose masks.
“We’re all very much aware of the global pandemic, COVID-19, and some of the reasons for people getting infected – people without nose masks, no social distancing and non-washing of hands regularly. So this is a way of us helping out in the government’s interventions, in terms of reducing the rate of infection. This is our way of supporting and impacting society.”
The CEO of Give Me Hope Foundation, Wisdom Dodoe, added that the mission of the two groups transcended the distribution of the nose masks.
“It’s not just about the masks; we’re here to educate the young ones that are here. Schools will be resuming and a lot of children cannot go back to school. We have to give an opportunity to them. Those that cannot go back to school, those that are school dropouts, we’ll take them and give them education when school resumes.”
“We also have to educate the young ones on teenage pregnancy; let them know of all social vices that are around so that they can protect themselves before school resumes. We don’t want school to resume with majority of the students at home so we’re here to make an impact. As we educate them, we share the masks and tell them how to use them so that together, we can save the nation.”
On behalf of the indigenes, the Chorkor Mantse, Nii Adotey Barimah II, expressed the community’s collective gratitude to the two foundations for their benevolence.
“From the way you have spoken so far, I’m impressed. I wish whatever you’ve brought along will be enough to meet the demands and lead to everybody getting one for him or herself. And the stool will be very happy so that at the end of the day, Chorkor will be satisfied. At least we’ll remember you that during crisis time, these organisations came around to give us some support.”
Myhelp-Yourhelp Foundation and the Give Me Hope Foundation are two independent non-governmental organisations; however, they share similar missions to alleviate the plight of the poor, needy and less privileged in society by meeting their basic needs through benevolence.
