Liberia is battling tooth and nail to pull the triggers against the virulent Covid-19 that has, till date, taken the life of 20 persons and 178 others infected with limited capacity. Sitting idly and watching those exposed to the virus to die is not an option the Jewel Starfish Foundation (JSF) would gamble with. Hence, the foundation has again come to rescue of the country’s primary treatment facility, the 14th Military Hospital with the donation of five oxygen tanks as part of its continuously unrestrained commitment to remain engaged with the fight against Covid-19 in Liberia.
Since the outbreak, Jewel Starfish Foundation has gone beyond the ordinary to provide sanitary materials, handwashing faucet buckets, automated handwashing station to health facilities and commercial areas that witness inflow of large number of people; bags of rice to locals in several communities; provided food and financial support to underprivileged girls under the tutelage of the foundation through scholarship and economic empowerment and more than 50 others who stand at risk of bearing the brunt of the hardship associated with the disease onslaught.
The donation to the 14th Military Hospital was presented by the foundation’s Program Director, Stephene Audrey Kpoto on May 5, 2020 in Margibi County.
Ms. Kpoto lauded healthcare workers on the frontline against Covid-19 to save lives despite the limited or virtually non-existent resources to work with. She expressed the hope that the donated oxygen tanks would come handy in the treatment of those who have come in contact with the deadly disease.
With more than 20years of empowering women and girls through scholarship, economic empowerment and leadership training across Liberia and presently more than 1500 active beneficiaries across Liberia, the JSF has held dearly that helping one person at a time could make a difference.
As Liberia teeters on edge against Covid-19 and its correlating economic hardship, the JSF through its founder, Chief Dr. Jewel Howard Taylor has been weathering the storm to ensure that every avenue is explored to raise the resources that would enable it reach out to the underprivileged during these trying times.
Chief Dr. Taylor has intimated that during times like these, it is not just enough to tell people to wash their hands and keep a social distance without showing what those things mean in practical terms by giving them anti Covid-19 materials and food to eat while they stay home.
According to the National Public Health Institute (NPHIL) daily portal, there were 8 new confirmed cases and 17 new recoveries reported as of 10:00 PM, May 5, 2020.