Coronavirus: 11yr-old Jos school kid sews facemasks to gift government

Sharon Lenge, 11, a Nigerian Junior Highschool kid has packaged 200 self-sewn facemasks for donation to government.

It is her personal contribution to the fight against COVID-19, she says.

In Nigeria, only corporate organizations, professional unions, nongovernmental organizations, and high net worth individuals have donated to government in its anti-coronavirus campaign.

Sharon, a Junior Secondary School (JSS 2) student of Diye Starlet High School, Zarmaganda, Jos, is but a newly commissioned tailor and fashion designer with barely up to $10USD monthly income from her business.

She started learning tailoring and fashion design two years ago as a hobby, mostly after school and during holidays.

She had just started the business when the Coronavirus pandemic hit Nigeria in February 2020, causing a general business shutdown.

Many local tailors, Sharon included, in order to stay afloat, have switched to producing and selling cloth facemasks to remedy the global shortage of surgical masks.

Sharon has only produced 400 pieces so far, but is donating 50% of that to government, for onward distribution to poor citizens who cannot afford one.

In other countries of the world, young people made remarkable donations to feed and care for the poor in the face of the Coronavirus pandemic before government started intervening.

At current local cost of facemasks, Sharon might be the first local entrepreneur under the age of 30 to donate items worth over N30,000 ($76.92308USD).

She might be an inspiration and challenge to many who have yet to reach out to those in need during the current global health crisis.