Volunteers make face shields for health workers

Orko Roy, 25, saw his banker father going to work every day during the lockdown.

With Covid-19 cases increasing in the city, the young architect was concerned for his father.

He collected all stationery and came up with a simple plastic face shield for his father. He later decided to make more face shields so that hospitals facing shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) can provide them to health care workers.

“After discussing it with my brother, batch-mates and faculty, a few of us decided to make masks on a regular basis and contacted nearby hospitals like Cooper and Karuna early in April. Eventually, through word of mouth, the cottage industry is spread across the city,” said Orko.

He roped in volunteers and in four weeks, around 60 people made over 4,600 face shields. Out of this, total 3,550 shields have been donated so far.

The project, Make From Home, attracted many people who volunteered to make face shields at home.

“Many individuals and an NGO donated money. A batch of students from KRVIA College donated Rs10,000 and we could supply more hospitals,” said Roy, who is based in Borivli.

As more people joined in, the face shield design was simplified to ensure minimal material is required. Each shield takes about three minutes to assemble. The production cost of one face shield is around Rs12, said Roy.

The team has been donating shields to KEM Hospital, BYL Nair Hospital along with Cooper Hospital, Karuna Hospital in Borivli and a few more hospitals in Malad. The group also delivered 100 face shields to the Beed police.

“We will still need more material as we plan to cover more hospitals in the coming days as there is a severe shortage of PPE. We are also trying to reach out to stationery shop owners for more materials,” said Anand Pendharkar, a social activist with Sprouts, an environment organisation. Sprouts has donated Rs60,000 to Roy’s team for the project.

The group of volunteers is working from Borivli, Kandivli, Malad, Goregaon, Four Bungalows in Andheri, Juhu, Vile Parle and Mahim. They make 500 face shields a day.

“We are following the World Health Organization guidelines on making masks and have also consulted doctors. The face shields are sanitised before and after making and those making them also sanitise their hands before starting work. Our aim is to provide health workers a protective layer till the PPE shortage is plugged across hospitals,” added Roy.

Those who wish to volunteer with the group can contact Roy on 8850529827.

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