Yesterday, I delivered food to an orphanage in Bhambayi, perhaps the poorest settlement in Durban. I was greeted by groups of people walking in the street, sitting in taverns and queuing for taxis. It all looked very normal and nothing like the Covid-19 lockdown and self isolation of the wealthier suburbs.
What struck me was how difficult it was for the residents of Bhambayi to separate themselves. Their resources of water, power, transport and even space, are shared. They have no gardens or spare rooms or Netflix or uncapped WiFi to relax into for three weeks. They have small shacks and houses, on top of other small shacks and houses, with bare earth gardens, dumped refuse and open sewers.
Under these conditions, stopping the spread of the virus in this settlement, through social distancing and isolation, seems impossible. This, in itself, is disheartening. However, with news from China that wearing masks is an effective way to slow the spread of the virus, I felt strangely intrigued.
Let’s make masks. Thousands of masks. Perhaps millions of masks. Not just for Bhambayi, but for all the crowded, vulnerable communities across the country. Let’s share the best ways to make a mask, on this group, and make them accordingly. Lets use the group to coordinate collection points, drivers, vehicles, community liaisons. Around the country. Lets give the people masks!
And. What about ventilators? Groups and individuals in the US and Europe are generating and sharing open source plans to 3D-print ventilator machines. We could do that too. And. Hand sanitizer? US breweries are distilling surgical alcohol to be used in the fight again the virus. In South Africa there are enough microbreweries to start a small hand sanitizing revolution.
My hope is that this group can be used as a platform to meet fellow makers, inventors, coordinators, drivers, packers, seamstresses around the country. To share designs, ideas and resources. To mobilize, and to protect the vulnerable from a ruthless enemy. A grassroots resistance. An Ubuntu Army.
To get the ball rolling, I offer my verge, at 141 Adelaide Tambo Drive, Durban North, as a staging point every Monday, for supplies that I will distribute to the Bhambayi residents every week. For now, masks are a priority. Email me at clint@punksoul.com to discuss the Bhambayi rollout.
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