It takes heart, intelligence, practical sense and community.
To face an emergency, especially in Kenya, it is not enough to lock oneself at home (which is fundamental, like keeping one's distance and sanitizing oneself all the time), but one has to do something, give a hand, because Africa and its people with their own resources will never be able to do it.
Roberto Baldacci, from Rimini for many years in Malindi where he runs the "Eden House" B&B residence with his Kenyan family, knows these things and has them inside.
So in a dramatic moment also for tourism, where you have to face another emergency, that of work and wages of many families, he reinvented his business, transforming the hospitality structure into a tailor's shop and starting to produce fabric masks.
"We have already produced six hundred of them - explains Roberto - they cost us about Kes. 50 each. We started with our own resources and today we donated 280 to the Red Cross, 210 to the State Police and 60 to the Kenya Wildlife Service. Now we have another 500 in the pipeline, but we hope to receive some help to pay our seamstresses and manufacture more".
The masks are simple and borrowed from a tutorial found online. Fabric with a slit on the inside where you can also put additional protection (gauze, etc. ...) or a feminine tampon. Obviously they are washable and reusable, so they work better and longer than "disposable" ones.
"In this moment of absolute need for prevention and a lot of time at our disposal, you can't sit on your hands - explains Roberto, as an active Romagnolo - we are ready to work, hoping that we will receive contributions to do so".
The operational headquarters of the Red Cross, which just yesterday (as taken from malindikenya.net) launched a request for various kinds and furnishings, including masks, have greatly appreciated the donation.
Thank you, Roberto. We need generous and operational countrymen like you.