The Coronavirus has transformed people into heroes. People in Africa are doing remarkable and extraordinary things to help others during this pandemic. While most countries are being overwhelmed with the pandemic, heroes are coming up to support the affected people. Here are six inspiring stories.
1) From Chic Garment to medical gowns
A Libyan fashion label interchanged fashion frocks to medical gowns. In a Fashion House, clothing six women are sewing scrubs for nurses and doctors, in Tripoli. These women are doing voluntary work and, at times, spend their night in the factory. They sewed fifty medical gowns and are now doing the next batch. The medical staff were excited and acknowledged their excellent work when they modeled their efforts earlier this week.
“The thought hit us when a doctor at the al-Jalaa Hospital reached out to various corporates for assistance,” Fashion House co-founder Najwa Taher Shokriy said.
Najwa Taher founded the clothing brand a year back. She had ambitions to expand it; however, due to the medical crisis, she has put it on hold. She wishes to make more medicals gowns; however, she is unable to get enough materials and sewing machines in the conflict-hit city.
2) Florists flower-bomb care home
The pandemic has led to many celebrations being postponed, and as a result, many flowers have been left to wilt. In Paarl, at the heart of South Africa, a group of florists made the best out of a bad situation. Adene’s Farm donated 600 flowers, which were used to decorate the Huis Vergenoegd Old Age Home. Residents at home had been on lockdown from mid-March but were permitted to come out to the pavement and “smell the roses.” They also got a lot of gratitude from people.
“We had cars stopping by, peering through the windows, pedestrians and passers-by stopping to take a look, it brought so much joy,” the flower grower said.
3) ‘Dream’ landlord waives rents
Michael Munene, A landlord in Kenya, has told his 34 tenants not to pay rent for March and April as he understands they may not be in the financial position too following the Corona pandemic. This man owns 28 apartments in Nyandarua. He receives $30 a month. He also charges $50 for each commercial unit he owns. With none of his tenants paying rent, he will be losing more than $2,000, but to him, he would rather children have something to eat. There was a time he could not afford a roof over his head, and he was locked out; therefore, he understands his tenants.
“They have been my tenants for some time now, and the rent they pay has supported me do a lot,” he said.
Out of his kind heart, he decided to work them. His acts of kindness got him “the landlord with a big heart” title.
4) Belly dancer performs for people online
Nermine Sfar, a Tunisian belly dancer has been dancing to keep people home during the lockdown in the North African nation. She live streams every night as she shows off her dancing moves and millions of people tune in to watch. She does this to entertain the world during the lockdown. Her campaign “stay at home and I’ll dance for you” started in March during the lockdown. Millions of people get on Facebook to see the dance. This seems to work; every evening, people are glued to it. She recorded two million views in the video the previous week.
5) Popstar donates house as a quarantine center
An Ethiopian pop star volunteered a villa for use by people arriving in the country. Last month, Ethiopia’s government ordered everyone landing to be quarantined for 14days in a hotel at their own expense. Hamelmal Abate, a popstar who became famous in the 1990s with Amharic and Afaan Oromo songs, added that this was fine for foreigners who had the money.
“However, people who need to be quarantined are also citizens,” she explained.
Some who are traveling from abroad can afford to stay in hotels assigned for this purpose. But some can’t afford that. However, they are still treated the same way.
She is among the few Ethiopian heroes donating their houses to become quarantine centers as concerns build-up due to shortage of space for those needing to be isolated.
6) Goalie pays for fans’ food
A footballer in Nigeria’s premier division has given four of his fans support to make sure they could eat during the coronavirus outbreak. Chinedu Anozie Plateau United goalkeeper gave each of the four fans $14. It may not sound little, but considering, most players in Nigeria’s premier league probably earn about $88 a week making him among the African heroes.
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