Alex Zalmai, owner of Thompson Cleaners & Tailors in Kamloops, has been volunteering his time during the pandemic to make fabric masks (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By Chad Klassen

SEW THE CURVE

Kamloops group growing in distribution of fabric masks to frontline workers, community during pandemic

Apr 15, 2020 | 5:11 PM

KAMLOOPS — A special initiative to help frontline workers during the COVID-19 pandemic has received a tremendous response.

Volunteers have come together to join Sew The Curve Kamloops, an organized group creating handmade masks for hospital and other emergency response workers in our community.

The group has distributed 5,170 masks and is taking order requests. It has 276 sewers that have come forward to help.

One of those volunteers helping is Alex Zalmai, the owner and operator of Thompson Cleaners & Tailors at Sahali Mall, who connected with the group.

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“Making face masks, it’s what I can do at this time to serve my community,” noted Zalmai. “But I was looking for someone who could reach others for demand.”

On March 23, Tamara Vukusic went ahead and organized the group to help frontline workers and others.

“My husband is an emergency room doctor at Royal Inland Hospital, and very early on in the COVID-19 situation, he came home feeling concerned about that shrinking pile of PPE (personal protective equipment),” she said.

On Wednesday (Apr. 15), the group dropped off 250 masks at the Kamloops RCMP detachment. While RCMP members are equipped with N95 masks, these will serve as backups.

“During this declaration of this state of emergency, the idea was brought up as to what happens if the N95 stock, which is equipment that we are issued as our personal protective equipment on the frontline, what happens when that dries up?” wondered Kamloops RCMP Sgt. Brandon Buliziuk.

Members of the Kamloops RCMP received 250 fabric masks from Sew The Curve Kamloops on Wednesday (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

The RCMP paid for the material, and leaned on Zalmai to make the masks. Zalmai, who moved to Canada from Afghanistan more than 20 years ago, says it’s his way of giving back to the country that’s given him so much.

“As an immigrant here, the amount of love that I’ve received in Canada, it has made me serve this country,” said Zalmai. “I feel proud to be a part of this, what’s going on, helping each other.”

Sew The Curve members have been pleasantly surprised with the number of people donating N95 masks for frontline workers.

“We have had, to date, 570 N95 masks donated that we, in turn, take to the hospital,” said Vukusic. “We’re able to offer people, in exchange for those masks, fabric masks.”

For anyone needing a mask or interested in helping sew, you can contact the group by visiting the Sew The Curve Kamloops website. There’s also a GoFundMe page for anyone interesting in donating to the group.