Pakistan: Helping our neighbors protect themselves
Posted on June 12, 2020, by Nasreen Daniel SL
Photos by Nasreen Daniel SL
The whole of humanity is grappling with the coronavirus. In Pakistan, after the appearance of COVID-19, the price of masks drastically increased. Poor people all over Pakistan cannot afford to buy the masks. In Bagrian Lahore, a slum area, .2 percent of people are wearing masks. With the help of LEWP (Loretto Empowering Women of Pakistan), we started making masks and sharing with anyone who needed one. We do not ask to what cast or creed they belong. All who are passing by our gate get the masks.
Our watchman stands outside the gate and distributes. You may wonder why we sisters cannot stand outside the gate and distribute, since we make and provide the masks. It is cultural; we women cannot stop a man without a mask and offer him one; therefore our watchman and driver do that job for us.
Most people in our area do not have electricity so they cannot hear or see the news and are not informed of the seriousness of the coronavirus. We made a big banner and have it outside our home and school. On it we wrote the coronavirus preventive methods in Urdu so everyone could read them. We also drew pictures with the words so that people who cannot read can understand the preventive methods.
