LP Azar makes donation to HOPE mask-making project
Published:Tuesday | April 7, 2020 | 2:45 PM
L P Azar has made an additional donation of fabric, equivalent to 10,000 masks, to the Housing, Opportunity, Production and Employment (HOPE) Programme.
HOPE interns have been mass-producing masks since last Friday for general distribution in a bid to help keep Jamaicans safe amid the spread of the coronavirus.
Jamaica has 59 confirmed cases of the virus.
The Ministry of Health and Wellness on Monday issued recommendations for the wearing of masks.
Among the groups are people who are ill with coughing and sneezing, people who are quarantined or isolated at home, caregivers, persons who had COVID-19 and have been discharged from hospital, the elderly and persons with chronic illnesses.
HOPE national coordinator Colonel Martin Rickman expressed gratitude for the donation.
He also used the opportunity to applaud entrepreneurs and companies which have joined in the fight by making masks and other protective gear.
HOPE has received 30,000 orders and has filled at least 4,000 requests so far.
“If you need masks for your staff, by all means you can come to us and purchase masks with the understanding that you can also purchase some to be given away because that really is our main aim - to get it to people who can’t afford it,” Rickman said.
Managing Director of HEART / National Service Training Agency Trust, Dr Janet Dyer, told The Gleaner that approximately 50 trainees and several instructors involved in the project.
Dyer noted that some of the labour will be transferred to the HEART Apparel Technician Centre at the Kenilworth Campus in Hanover.
She explained that the agency has also sought assistance from other personnel in HEART with a background in sewing.
Playing her part, she sewed 200 masks with her mother’s help on the weekend and has vowed to complete 25 each day.
“Looking at the crisis we are having now and looking at the logo, it actually says that there is hope for Jamaica after the crisis. I’ve coined another meaning for HOPE- it is helping our people earn,” she said.
L P Azar Managing Director, Andrew Azar, implored other corporate entities to support the initiative.
“The least we can do is support them in the way we can and that’s financially. We are in a crisis now and just as how we stand by our country in the good times, we must stand by our country now,” Azar said.
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