An Ederney mother and daughter duo have been stitching masks for front-line healthcare workers. Eileen and Sara-Louise Montague have used their time at home to make over 1,000 masks to date which have been distributed across the county to help a variety of health professionals as they carry out their daily work.
Explaining the motivation to get stuck in to help out in a practical way Sara-Louise said, “About two weeks ago my auntie got a call from a nurse in one of the local hospitals and she asked about making masks. She got in touch with mum and we started making them. Mum used to work in Desmonds and had been sewing for about 16 years, but I never sewed before, I just saw she needed some help so I got stuck in.”
“The community has rallied around to help in providing the essential materials. “We have had donations of material, thread, elastic and we have even had needles and bobbles donated. Biscuits have also been donated for our tea breaks.”
In the space of two weeks the pair have stitched over 1,000 masks.
“When we started we thought it would just be a few, but we’ve already created over 1,000. Our masks have been distributed widely. We have made donations to community and district nurses as well hospital staff, care home staff and volunteers within the community who are carrying out home deliveries.”
Sara-Louise and Eileen expressed their gratitude to all those in the Irvinestown, Kesh and Ederney areas who have helped out. “There have been many volunteers who have been helping with making the masks and we can’t thank them enough.”
Community spirit is strong in the village with a volunteer group set up to help local residents through this challenging time. A rota has been set up to ensure that those isolating or needing deliveries are able to avail of local support. Deliveries are made after 4pm each day. Ederney parish priest Fr Frank McManus is listed as a point of contact, as is the local St Vincent de Paul branch.
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