• Ayub Bundi said the vulnerable members of society were finding it difficult to acquire masks.
• Mukiria Technical Training Institute donated two rooms for the drive.
A Meru MCA has initiated production of face masks for orphans, the elderly, people living with disability and other vulnerable groups.
The protective gear is produced at Mukiria Technical Training Institute. Abothoguchi Central MCA Ayub Bundi said the vulnerable members of society were finding it difficult to acquire masks, hence his decision to intervene to help the fight against Covid-19.
He formed a WhatsApp group and within a short time raised Sh100,000 that was spent on production equipment. The manufacturing team comprises jobless graduate teachers and tailors whose business premises were closed as part of measures to stop overcrowding.
Bundi said a big number of residents are economically vulnerable though some can afford Covid-19 protection items.
"I decided to mobilise locals to assist after pleading with the county in futility, seeing the big number of people walking without masks, some getting arrested," he told the Star on Saturday.
"We formed the WhatsApp group to make donations and help the most vulnerable going without masks. We bought some 20 machines and got 13 young people and some women to start production of standard masks."
Mukiria Technical Institute registrar Joy Nkonge said the Fashion Design and Hospitality had the capacity to help the government to fight the virus.
“The MCA has come with a team and we have our own team. We have the capacity to produce 2,000 masks daily. We need such partnerships, so we can defeat this virus,” she said.
The institute donated two rooms for the drive, which now faces financial constraints. Bundi, who is also the Minority leader in the Meru assembly, said their aim is to complement the fight against the virus by ensuring the less-fortunate members of the community also have protective gear.
"The team is capable of mass production if the county and national government fund them. The group is paid little for their daily work and if their capacity can be boosted, they would produce masks for a larger population," he said.
The employees said they would sell them at Sh30 apiece if they had financial support from the government to buy more machines.