Sewing five thousand face masks in one week

Making five thousand face masks in one week – that was Janne’s goal, and she succeeded! Thanks to nearly two hundred people who helped her, both with sewing, setting up the website, and distributing the face masks to places like homeless shelters and nursing homes.Janne has a studio in the Frederik Hendrik neighborhood of Amsterdam. Some of her productions have come to a standstill, so she has some free time. “If I sit still, I get bored. So I thought: can’t I contribute to this situation? I started making some face masks and left them on the stairs for the neighbors. Until one of the neighbors asked if anyone had face masks for a doctor who was in need. I immediately went to get fabric and started making some face masks. And that’s how it all started rolling.”

300 meters of fabric and long days

Janne received feedback from the general practitioner and unfortunately, her face masks cannot be used in healthcare. But they are certainly good enough for patients. So she immediately drove to the wholesaler and bought three hundred meters of fabric. “Luckily, my inbox exploded with the number of people who wanted to help. My brother went on his motorcycle to deliver fabrics to people who wanted to help with sewing, and my wife took all the phone calls. Yes, it’s a lot of work. I work incredibly long days, sometimes from nine in the morning until one in the morning. Fortunately, I am used to large productions.”(story continues below the photo)

“You are bringing the gold”

All face masks are being brought to various institutions in Amsterdam free of charge, including homeless shelters, hospices, disability care, nursing homes, and psychiatry. Janne receives the most beautiful reactions. “You bring us gold,” people from the GGZ exclaimed. Janne herself doesn’t find what she does so special: “I don’t think much about it. I think it’s logical to offer help. Shouldn’t everyone do that? And I also get a lot of energy from it myself.”Need face masks?
Authorities can still request face masksvia the websiteMail Janne atmondkapjeskrijgen2020@gmail.comYou can request a maximum of two hundred face masks.Even ‘ordinary’ people can ask Janne for face masks. She sends packages by mail to those who really need them.

Interview: Michelle Engel

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