Local residents sew masks for Kenyan school

A group of supporters in DeKalb County has donated their time, talent and treasure to help protect the students, teachers and staff of the Jane Adeny Memorial School for Girls during the COVID-19 pandemic.

JAMS is a residential high school for orphaned and poor girls founded by DeKalb locals Teresa Wasonga and Andrew Otieno in their home region of Kenya.

Long-time JAMS supporter Rob Stoll donated fabric and other supplies as well as created the pattern for the face masks. He then recruited Diane Hance, Joanne Hackerson and Sue Goudy to help sew the masks. They sewed 400 masks, enough for JAMS students, teachers and staff to have two each.

The mask fabric is sturdy South African shweshwe in a red, black and white pattern – the JAMS school colors. The masks will not only protect but will also look great with the students’ black, red and white school uniforms.

“Masks, to me, are a sign of caring for ourselves, caring for others ... our friends, family and community, caring for our nation and world," Hance said in a news release. "We are all in this together. It was an honor to sew for JAMS, spreading that love out into the world.”

On July 26, Stoll delivered the 400 masks to the co-founders of JAMS. He also supplied fabric, patterns and instructions so that students can learn to make masks on the JAMS sewing machines – an excellent vocational skill for them. The masks will be delivered to JAMS in August, ready for when school can reopen.

The Kenya Ministry of Education closed all schools in March and announced in July that schools will reopen in January 2021. In the meantime, JAMS teachers continue instruction via twice-weekly phone calls with each student and JAMS staff maintain the campus buildings and farm in readiness for school to open again.

For more information about JAMS, visit www.JAMSKenya.org.