At times, the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic can make one feel a little powerless.

Staying indoors for most of the day, every day, will do that, but there are countless organisations out there, hard at work, helping those who are most in need.

One such organisation is Masks For Medics, a non-profit started by six Cape Town-based doctors.

Reliant entirely on donated funds, Masks for Medics provides free personal protective equipment (PPE) to healthcare workers, such as physios, occupational therapists, carers, doctors, registered nurses, who care for patients outside of hospitals.

So far, they have provided PPE to close to 1 500 healthcare workers (HCWs) in the Cape Town Metropole since the start of June.

In addition to providing PPE, they also evaluate what HCWs need, and train and guide them in the use, re-use, and disposal of the PPE.

As has been widely discussed, the government response to the pandemic has been, let’s say, ‘insufficient’, and healthcare workers are battling to procure adequate PPE, which makes the work done by Masks For Medics all the more important.

So far, they have had numerous elderly care facilities, early childhood development centres, care homes for disabled persons, and individual healthcare workers approach them, but more funding is needed so that they may continue their good work.

If you ever clapped along at 8PM, as a way of offering thanks to those on the front line that are risking their lives on our behalf, consider this the logical next step to show your appreciation, and a way to make a real difference in your own community.

Donations can be made via their Backabuddy campaign, which features this explanatory video:

For those wanting to donate via SnapScan, click here.

You can also visit and like their Facebook page to keep up to speed with how donations are being put to use.

If you are a healthcare worker, and you would like to apply for PPE, you can do so via these links:

• For individual applicants – https://forms.gle/B2Cb1aax7QSe6otJ6
• For institutions or groups – https://forms.gle/QKNpg9Cc6HGomzLJ7

As trying as these times are, it is the work of organisations like Masks For Medics, as well as countless others, that reminds us of the spirit of ubuntu.

To find out more about the doctors behind the initiative, who are pictured below, read this.