With the online space littered with many ways of turning various previously unthought-of items into facemasks, one that arguably stands out is that of turning an old bra into a mask.
The Covid-19 pandemic has ignited the creativity of some Kenyans who have joined the online trend and are turning bras into affordable facemasks and urging others to do the same.
The video was first brought to light by Emannuel Yegon, famous for his initiative on mobile journalism, who visited the Gatina Ward in Dagoretti North constituency, where the residents were sewing the masks.
According to the report, the women decided to turn old bras into masks that were easily affordable and readily available given that a majority of them could not afford the prices of the masks sold in chemists and shops.
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"If someone cannot afford masks or other clothing materials for making masks, they can use their old bras. They can cut it and sew it themselves and take it to a tailor to do that for them.
"A man can also ask his wife to give him her an old bra, wash it in bleach and when it dries, he can sew it and wear for the time being before the government releases the masks it promised," one of the brains behind the initiative stated.
A tailor in Gatina also informed that the reason she embarked on the idea was that she realized that the pandemic was very serious and that action needed to be taken as soon as possible.
"I urge all women with old or even new bras to bring them here so that we can turn them into masks. We should come together to fight this pandemic. I love masks made from bras because they have three layers and will serve the purpose," the tailor stated.
One man who embraced the idea revealed that it took him less than ten minutes to hand-sew the mask and expressed confidence that with the right measures in place, he was sure to protect himself from the vagaries of the pandemic.
The masks have received an overwhelming uptake among boda boda operators who confessed that they had no money to purchase new facemasks and were thus glad to have received the unique masks.
According to medical experts, however, the masks might not necessarily be a good measure to protect you against the Covid-19 pandemic since they do not have the required filter.
The women's initiative comes to light at a time when residents in Murang'a County were allegedly duped into wearing masks fashioned from underpants.
According to a report by Citizen TV on Tuesday, April 14, the residents of Mathare village were duped into purchasing the masks by some unscrupulous traders who were retailing them for Ksh20 per mask.
