Over a month ago, Alma de Sal was a workshop focused on the design and elaboration of swimsuits and linen clothing; now, it makes suits that it donates to the medical staff at hospitals fighting COVID-19 , says Lucía Valdés.
The owner of this business explains that when she heard of the supplies shortage for frontline healthcare workers, she decided, along with her work team, to find a way to contribute during the pandemic .
She thinks that providing personal protective equipment for doctors and nurses is “a major necessity,” that is why she invites people to raise the money needed to buy the materials and “together, help with suits, an essential supply for healthcare workers.”
Lucía says that at the beginning of the pandemic, her business had to halt its operations since its activities are non-essential, but she was lucky enough to have another way to generate an income and since she has the tools to design and sew clothes, she began designing the suits upon knowing there was a shortage.
The objective, she says, was to donate 700 suits during the first weeks of the pandemic and then keep on making more, however, her expectations were exceeded, and “that makes me feel great satisfaction because I think it’s a labor that helps pay medical experts back for their effort.
“It was very fast. One day, I was thinking about closing the factory and I immediately knew I had to help ; I received advice from doctors to study the feasibility of the clothing and I began working,” she says.
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The suits are made with special surgical fabric and they have elastic bands on the ankles so that the body can breathe. In only five days, they made nearly 100 pieces . The real cost of every piece is of MXN $108 and they are disposable ; nevertheless, she acknowledged that the lack of this PPE has made doctors re-use them at least three times. In the future, she plans to use polypropylene fabric which is safer.
“Doctors tell us that the shortage is so strong that they are forced to use [the suits] several times , that’s why we want to improve their quality ,” she mentions.
The entrepreneur stressed that with this project, they pretend to reach as many hospitals as possible. So far, they have made donations to the Adolfo López Mateos Medical Center in Toluca and the October 1st Regional Hospital in Mexico City.
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Since the crisis affects all sectors, she adds that in order to continue producing and donating the medical suits, they are raising funds to buy fabric and different materials in addition to paying the personnel of the micro business that makes them.
“Actually, there is a shortage of fabric and supplies, but there are people who help us [find] them,” she explains.
They receive donations starting at MXN $50 on their official website .
Thanks to these funds, they have been able to buy more material to make more suits. She added that this project is transparent so all the information regarding how the donations are used, as well as pictures of the healthcare workers who receive the suits, are completely available.
Doctors who need this kind of equipment can get in touch with the project on their official website or their Facebook and Instagram accounts where they can inquire about donations. “Regarding the crisis no one was expecting, there are always new opportunities to make a positive impact and it’s always better if we can contribute,” says Lucía Valdés.
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