By Jonathan Makama, Jos
10k Mask Plateau is a project initiated by 15 young people to sensitize community members on coronavirus; they are also giving out face masks and sanitizers to support government efforts in curbing coivd-19 pandemic in the State.
Coronavirus belongs to the coronaviridea family in the Nidovirales order. Corona represents crown-like spike on the outer surface of the virus; thus, it was named coronavirus. Recently at the end of 2019, Wuhan an emerging business hub of China experienced an outbreak of a novel coronavirus that killed more than eighteen hundred and infected over seventy thousand individuals within the first fifty days of the epidemic.
In Nigeria, the first case of the coronavirus pandemic was announced in late February, 2020, when an Italian citizen in Lagos was tested positive for the virus. Early March, 2020, a second case of the virus was reported in Ewekoro, Ogun State of a Nigerian who had contact with the Italian.
Since then, there has been an increasing national scale of infections on a daily basis in different states across the country. There are also different narratives that are being adopted out of desperation for information, such misinformation is not exclusive to Plateau State. But the threat of a damaging after-effects is likely to be more pronounced given people’s attitudes, beliefs and perception of government efforts towards containing the outbreak.
Today, 10k Mask Plateau is Collaborating with MIDpoint Nigeria to reach out to some local government areas in Plateau state with medical aid, right messages, distributing hand sanitizers, reusable face masks and educating community members on covid–19.
MIDpoint Nigeria is a non-governmental organization working to transform communities through human capacity development, economic empowerment, Peace and Conflict resolution.
So far, in addition to the distribution of foodstuffs, face masks and hand sanitizers, the group has reached out with medical care to people with hypertension, diabetes and sight issues in over two hundred households in Jos North and South Local Government Areas.
Chohu Joshua is the Team Leader of Project 10k Mask Plateau, he says “we thought it out that without an intentional act to fight this virus, we will all be victims someday, so we decided to help in our little way by providing not only masks, but relief materials to communities on the Plateau State. We believe that with the right information reaching out to everyone both young, old and people with disability, the spread of covid-19 will reduce drastically. So, we took to social media, and any other medium available to carry out sensitization campaigns”.
10k Mask Plateau is working tirelessly to reach out to the entire 17 Local Government areas on the Plateau.
The recipients of this outreach appreciate the efforts of the team and pray that God should continue to bless, protect and provide for them to do more.
Jibril Haruna and Zainab Suleman doubted the existence of coronavirus; today, after meeting the team, they are living with the reality……covid-19 is real.
