LIBERIA: COVID-19 HYGIENE KITS

"You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you." As the world grapples with COVID19, hospital systems in the developed world are overwhelmed and millions of people are in dire straits due to the sudden decline in economic activity. However, local and national governments are stepping up to bring temporary relief to families; many also have access to the recommended supplies, including running water, soap, and disinfectants at home to reduce exposures to this deadly virus. I sat in my couch a week ago--in a state of gratefulness-- and thought about thousands of people in my home country Liberia who struggle to afford basic necessities. I also reminisced about my childhood and the difficulty it was sometimes to find even locally made soap to clean the dishes or take a bath. It dawned on me that this was still a reality for thousands of families in Liberia. I wondered how they'll afford supplies needed to reduce the risk of contracting COVID19. With Liberia now at 9 positive coronavirus cases being treated and almost 100 high risk cases under observation, now is the time to step in as a community to help struggling families (mostly in densely populated communities) protect their children, unhealthy, and elderly ones. We all know the severity of COVID-19 and the high rate of community spread. Although many of us may have already provided for our immediate family in Liberia, there is a need to support less privileged families with supplies to set up handwashing stations. The supplies will include clorox, soap, and locally designed containers/buckets. Liberians have already been through enough with the outbreak of the Ebola epidemic in 2014 and because we can, we need to help the less fortunate among us as a community. Please join me and Siatta Kennedy as we raise funds, which will be donated to 2-3 community-based organizations (CBOs). These CBOs will have the responsibility to distribute/set up and manage the handwashing stations with support from community leaders.