WATCH: Mitchells Plain family manufacturing 3D masks for community

A family in Mitchells Plain has used their time at home 3 D printing face shields for their community in a bid to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

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The father, Marshall Nelson, who is a managing director for Youth Media Movement, an institute aimed at strategic training and skills development programmes for the youth and the physically challenged in the area used one if the organisations initiatives which is the training of the community to  assemble 3D printers to assemeble components for drones.

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With the arrival of the coronavirus Nelson and family then switched the focus of th initiative to now print face shields for the community.  After identifying the need in their community since the lockdown, Nelson and his family have been working to address the requirement for protection among those living and working in the area to protect themselves should they have to leave their homes. He and his children, Maté, Marté and Marshall jnr, begun tracing designs for a visor, modeling their concept on a hairband.

Nelson says, “I’m making these shields for my community, especially those that have to go to the day hospital to get their medication and has to return regularly to top up.Also the staff at the day hospital, the police, the big hospitals… places where people have to go to and where contact with other people cannot be avoided.I’m doing this so that my community is protected. I am not saying that this will completely protect you, but at least it will assist in stopping the spread of this virus.”

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