KUALA LUMPUR, Apr 6 — A Filipino nurse is adding colour to the fight against Covid-19 by making protective suits inspired by pop culture characters such as the Teletubbies, the Power Rangers and Darth Vader.
Sharing his masterpieces via his Instagram with the handle @senoritoaidz), Adrian Pe wrote that his work was exhausting but he always looked for the beauty in the faces of the patients and to be grateful.
“I will bring this aspect as a Nurse Designer, to see situations with a silver lining. And to assess where I could give something; where I could provide something as a spokesperson.
“And if I can teach people to be grateful, we can have an amazing world where #COVID19 cannot grow and prosper, and children will have smiles on their faces.”
Website Choose Philippines featured Pe, an OR nurse with a passion for fashion designing, who decided to make the personal protective equipment (PPE) for his fellow health workers in one of the hospitals in Iloilo.
The push he needed was the encouragement and belief of a friend, who also gave him 100m fabric to use.
“Maybe she believed that I can do this because I am a designer and I have access to tailoring shops,” said Pe.
Through donations of friends, organisations and groups, enough was gathered to kickstart the project.
While PPEs are usually neutral colours, he said he decided to change the colours as materials were limited due to closure of shops.
Pe explained that they used nonwoven fabric used for eco-bags, because this material lasts longer and is fluid-resistant.
Besides having seamstresses and tailors to produce the PPEs, his co-workers at the hospital also assist in cutting patterns, a team effort that churns out 20 and 25 pieces daily.
Production is expected to increase as PPEs have been sent as prototypes to different seamstresses and tailors, to recruit help to boost production.
