| Nation

The Covid-19 pandemic has almost brought everything to a stand-still globally and continues to worsen the lives of vulnerable groups in the country.

The elderly, slum dwellers, street families, the sick, the needy and people living with disabilities are among the hardest.

Government restrictions to curb the spread of Covid-19 have made things worse for vulnerable. Many can’t afford sanitizers and facemasks, a basic necessity during this time.

As the crisis escalates, a host of women are leading in the fight to protect the most vulnerable.

Charity Ngilu

Governor Ngilu has been lauded for her spirited efforts to contain the spread of the virus by spearheading making of masks.

Through Kitui County Textile Centre (Kicotec), Ngilu has gone flat out to make 30,000 masks a day to help plug a global shortage of the protective gear.

After the confirmation of Covid-19 pandemic in the country, Ms Ngilu decided to have the factory make sample masks that were taken to the Kenya Bureau of Standards for approval, before the Ministry of Health granted her the tender to make them. The factory currently employs more than 400 workers.

Speaking last weekend when she toured Kitui South to distribute face masks to residents, Ngilu said the masks will be given free to county residents.

“The masks are produced locally at Kitui County Textile Centre and will be distributed for free to our people to slow down the spread of Covid-19,” said Ngilu.

The weekend tour saw the governor distribute masks to boda boda operators, traders and residents in Mutomo, Kyatune, Ikanga, Makele, Kwa Kethi,Ituki,Mwaani and Maluma markets.

Kicotec has already distributed 20,000 masks to neighbouring Makueni County and an additional 42,000 to Kakamega County.

Gladys Wanga

The Homa Bay Woman Representative last week, launched a mask stitching workshop. It will produce 1,000 washable masks daily for a period of one month.

The masks will be distributed to boda boda riders and traders, among other vulnerable groups, in the county.

Wanga said the material being used to make the masks were sourced from Rivatex in Eldoret; adding that the material is 99 per cent effective against Covid-19.

The lawmaker disclosed that she received Sh522,000 from National Government Affirmative Action Fund (NGAAF) part of which she used to set up the workshop.

“We’ve secured about 10 sewing machines and 40 trained tailors to make the face masks. They have been trained at National Industrial Training Authority. We are working closely with partners to ensure residents get support during the Covid-19 outbreak,” the Woman Rep said.

She also appealed to residents to abide by precautionary measures to prevent the spread of the virus.

Ms Wanga revealed that her office had purchased soap, water tanks for hand washing and 4,000 litres of sanitizer for distribution to the 40 wards in the county.

“Homa Bay registered its first Covid-19 case, presenting the need to step up prevention measures within the communities. I set up a stitching workshop to make an initial 20,000 masks for free distribution to residents, especially those with high exposure,” she said.

Gathoni Wamuchomba

The Kiambu Woman Representative through a program dubbed ‘Mama Care’, last Tuesday started to distribute food, face masks and sanitizers to the needy in the county.

Under the program, the MP targets more than 1,000 poor households drawn from the 12 constituencies in the county.

So far, the program has distributed food and facemasks to more than 100 needy families in Githunguri and Ruiru constituencies.

Officials of Nyumba Kumi Initiative who have been accompanying the MP’s office team during the field visits, assisted in identifying the beneficiaries.

“We are counting 15 days of massive reach out to the less fortunate and the needy who need our help during this difficult time,” said Ms Wamuchomba.

During the visits to the destitute families, the legislator and her team also educate the people on how to caution themselves against Covid-19.

“There is need to make people understand how to stay safe from corona virus and also show them the need to heed advice given by the government and experts concerning the pandemic,” she said.

Ann Thumbi

The Nairobi nominated Member of County Assembly (MCA) who is a nurse by profession has won many hearts after she offered to volunteer at Waithaka Health Centre in Dagoretti South in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic.

The MCA has forgone the privileges that comes with her political position to don gloves and a nursing suit to help Waithaka residents at a time when many health facilities are overwhelmed.

At the health centre, the MCA spends part of her seven hours at the facility attending patients in the maternity ward.

She said deconstructing myths on Covid-19 is part of her daily job at the facility as some of the youth she interacts with believe the disease only affects the elderly.

“As a healthcare professional, there comes a time when the country is bigger than an individual regardless of the risk involved. Covid-19 is real and let all follow the Ministry of Health guidelines to avoid further spread of the virus,” Ms Thumbi said.

She said she had to get approval from the Ministry of Health after submitting her application alongside her practicing licence.

Mary Chweya

Ms Chweya a businesswoman in Kisii County has won accolades over her role in helping combat the deadly disease.

She recently re-packaged, for free, 3,000 litres of sanitizer donated to Kisii County Government by Kibos Sugar Company Limited in Kisumu to help combat Covid-19.

The sanitizers were later distributed to people across the county’s nine sub-counties, prison and police departments.

The 3,000 litres were re-packaged into 6,000 pieces of 100ml and 500 pieces of 450 ml.

The move by Ms Chweya has caught the eye of Governor Evans Ongwae who while speaking at the Kisii Agriculture Training Centre last Tuesday, termed the act as noble and among measures the country needs during this time of crisis.

The businesswoman came into the limelight last week when Kisii county government started to fumigate major towns in the county.

“We had asked the Kisii business community to assist us in re-packaging the sanitizer so that it is easier to distribute, but Ms Chweya volunteered to do it free of charge,” he said.

Waithira Maruru

Ms Maruru from Nyeri provides clean water and soap for hand washing, targeting vulnerable groups in the county.

The 29-year-old businesswoman who hails from Karatina, has set up mobile hand washing stations where people have been washing their hands to guard against coronavirus.

“Many of our people in the slums have no water and therefore, unable to wash their hands as recommended,” she said.

Esther Passaris

The Nairobi Woman Representative recently donated 900 cartons of menstrual hygiene products to girls living slums.

The lawmaker said the donation was made by the NGAAF, which falls under the Ministry of Public Service, Youth and Gender Affairs and the Chinese embassy.

She handed the donation to the Kenya Red Cross for distribution.

The politician, however, received bashing from members of the public for donating sanitary pads with her pictures plastered on them.

Globally, many other women have also been in the frontline in the fight against the disease through various initiatives.

Rihanna

The US singer last week donated 2.1 million dollars (Sh210 million) to the Mayor’s Fund for Los Angeles to assist victims of domestic violence as a result of the coronavirus lockdown.

The singer’s Clara Lionel Foundation, joined with Twitter and Square CEO Jack Dorsey to donate matching sums to the drive.

Their donations will cover 10 weeks of support, including shelter, meals and counselling for families experiencing domestic violence during the pandemic in Los Angeles.

An increase in domestic violence have been witnessed in countries across the world with reports indicating families in lockdown are experiencing abuse with majority of victims being women and children.

Oprah Winfrey

The US media mogul Oprah Winfrey also last week donated 10 million dollar (Sh1 billion) to help Americans during this pandemic in cities across the country.

Of her total donation, $1 million will go toward America's Food Fund to alleviate food insecurity. The rest will be donated to other groups helping Americans during the pandemic.

Taiwan, President Tsai Ing-wen

Her early intervention measures have controlled the coronavirus pandemic so successfully that it is now exporting millions of face masks to help the European Union and others.

Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel

She has overseen the largest-scale coronavirus testing program in Europe, conducting 350,000 tests each week, detecting the virus early enough to isolate and treat patients effectively. Germany, with 83 million citizens, has had over 132,000 infections but very low deaths per million far lower than most other European countries.