Making Masks During COVID-19
By Past President Lisa Lowcock, Rotary Club of Essendon
Days for Girls (DfG) Keilor Gateway Cluster is an international project of the Rotary Club of Keilor East, and involves team members making sustainable kits containing menstruation sanitary items.
Club members first heard of Days for Girls in 2014. A small group of ladies armed with scissors and sewing machines enthused about this hugely impactful project. So, a team of volunteers (nicknamed “the Daysies”) got to work in Past President Cherrie Osborn's kitchen and lounge room. This team has inspired more than 100 people to meet each month in Essendon to create 500 kits annually. With assistance from Donations in Kind (DIK), the kits and a DfG education program are distributed to women and girls in Balibo, Timor-Leste, who would otherwise miss school and work due to their menstrual period.
Enter COVID-19, and the directive of the State Government to wear face masks. Commencing with a few masks for her family, team member and Rotary Club of Essendon Past President Lisa Lowcock, busily started sewing. Pleased with how hers looked and felt, Lisa’s daughter posted a photo on Instagram and Facebook and the orders started coming in from friends, then friends of friends, and then families of friends. This gave Lisa a “light bulb” moment! Why not utilise some of the DfG fabrics and ask for $20.00 per mask or $30.00 for two masks with all proceeds going to the Days for Girls project?
Orders rolled in, including from local companies and schools. Within a few days, Lisa found herself swamped with orders and welcomed the assistance of four other Daysies (DfG volunteers)—Jane Odgers (Co-Leader of the team), Jenny Oldham, Romana Sultana and Helen Penna. Two weeks later and over 300 masks had been made and sold with the proceeds of sales amounting to over $4,000 for the DfG Keilor Gateway Cluster team to purchase supplies.
Lisa is thrilled with the way the masks have been received, especially by a Royal Children's Hospital Oncology Department staff member and friend, who commented on the softness of the fabrics in the masks she used at home compared to the medical masks worn in the hospital, which caused skin irritations. This was another “light bulb” moment for Lisa. Still armed with her scissors and sewing machine, she decided that these frontline workers needed help. So, Lisa made up 90 more masks and donated them to the grateful nursing staff.
The Daysies are now just waiting to get together again and enjoy each other’s company. They are eager to continue fulfilling Rotary International's motto to “Open Opportunities” for the women and girls in Timor-Leste, who, by receiving these wonderful Days for Girls kits, can maintain their dignity and look forward to a more positive future.
Learn more about Days for Girls: https://www.daysforgirls.org/australia