The Mustard Seed Mission Combats Epidemic with Love in Taiwan

Taiwan, 2020-Feb-13 — /EPR Network/ — The outbreak of 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) has spread worldwide. In Taiwan, from the government to the people, everyone is working hard to prevent infection spread. 26 children in Agape Children’s Home of The Mustard Seed Mission made cloth masks by themselves today. From cutting to sewing, and using non-woven fabrics as filter materials, the children made cloth masks for epidemic prevention. Yu-hui Su, the president of Agape Children’s Home, said that in response to government policies, the Children’s Home has taken relevant epidemic prevention measures every day; in addition to learning self-protection and correct concepts of epidemic prevention, making reusable cloth masks is also an environmental protection concept. The handmade cloth masks will also be sent as gifts to disadvantaged families and the elderly who The Mustard Seed Mission serves. Combining the strengths of the local community partners, The Mustard Seed Mission invites community elders and women to join in the action of making homemade cloth masks!

On February 12th, 26 children in the Children’s Home sewed their own masks one stitch by one stitch. Cutting cloth and sewing slowly, needle and thread are not unfamiliar to the handy children. Sewing is one of the skills that children have to learn in the self-reliant program of the Children’s Home. In the face of the “mask chaos”, the Children’s Home reacted to the experts’ announcement of the correct use of cloth masks instead of medical masks as a daily protective measure. Chang-mei Chen, a lecturer who advocates “zero-waste”, came to teach the children how to make cloth masks, clean and use them properly.

Yu-hui Su said that in order to reduce the government’s medical burden, self-protection is a personal responsibility. If children have medical needs or special conditions, they will wear surgical mask; otherwise, children can wear self-made cloth masks to protect themselves. Learning the concept of environmental protection and zero-waste; also a chance to be grateful and give back, the children made cloth masks as gifts to vulnerable families and the elderly. However, there is a shortage of medical-grade alcohol and chlorine-containing detergents in the Children’s Home, people are welcome to donate.

Titus, one of the children, said that temperature is taken every day. He knows that handwashing is important to prevent infections, and surgical masks are used at the right time and are also reserved for people who really need them. Currently, the school opening is postponed and he jogs to boost immunity. Ruby, another child, said that she was very happy to learn to make cloth masks, and knowing that it can also help people in need, which is very meaningful.

The epidemic not only impacts the medical industry, but also affects the economy, tourism, and other related industries. During large-scale disasters, giving to charity would be crowded out. If the epidemic lingers, it will inevitably affect the donations of social welfare organizations, yet the needs of vulnerable groups do not disappear. The Mustard Seed Mission is now serving more than 3,000 disadvantaged children and the children in the residential placements. They are often weaker in access to epidemic information and social resources. They lack adaptability, so they would take even longer to recover. The Mustard Seed Mission invites everyone to continue supporting social welfare organizations to support the “epidemic prevention right” of vulnerable groups. In the global pandemic, we should leave no one behind in the epidemic prevention network.

The Mustard Seed Mission has phoned the served families, partner churches and service stations to understand their situation and remind them the correct precautionary measures. We will combine the strength of local community partners to promote self-made cloth masks; elders and women in the community are invited to join in learning how to make the mask, aiming to assist the vulnerable families to fight the epidemic.