On the first day of April in this catastrophic first quarter of the year, Facebook had a bright red poster going viral. The poster read “$10,141 raised of $9000”, and below those figures, it valiantly read “Fundraiser ended”. The Kenya Women In The United States (KWITU) had done it again.
According to KWITU’s fundraiser description, the campaign was to support the organization’s members on the frontline and their family members who continue to work while risking exposure to the COVID-19. “Many of our members work in healthcare and a recent survey conducted within our community shows that we have over 400 members who need access to masks, gloves or both,” the message read.
The organization hit its first goal of $6,000 within a few hours, before reaching and shattering the secondary target of $9,000 in under 8hrs to raise a total of $10,141 on the Facebook fundraising platform. The grand total reported on the organization’s official Facebook page that included funds from other sources was $10,541 which is slightly over 1 million Kenya shillings.
Healthcare workers rely on personal protective equipment (PPE) to protect themselves and their patients from being infected and infecting others. The World Health Organization (WHO) recently warned that “severe and mounting disruption to the global supply of personal protective equipment caused by rising demand, panic buying, hoarding, and misuse – is putting lives at risk from the new coronavirus and other infectious diseases”, WHO states.
The Kenya Women In The United States came through to protect their own who are having to go through detrimental challenges in providing care to patients with limited protective equipment. The campaign said that the collected funds will go towards buying N95 masks and gloves. ” We are hoping to fill the gap by buying at least 3,000 N95 masks and 500 boxes of gloves,” the statement further stated.
KWITU is known for its philanthropy in promoting the welfare of Kenyan Women in the USA and social responsibility in general. The organization’s success in its benevolent gestures across the US is led by the resolute State Representatives who are KWITU ambassadors in their respective states. According to a recent organization’s Facebook post, KWITU says that “State Representatives work with their senators, representatives, and mayors to ensure that our voices as Kenyan women are heard loud and clear”.
Even in the midst of a global pandemic that is threatening the lives and careers of many, Kenyans have proven that nothing can stop them from coming together and supporting each other morally, socially, and financially. Earlier this week, DJSunny Sistuki from Raleigh North Carolina mobilized thousands of Kenyans to come together in a night of virtual entertainment where he raised $7,130 towards a medical fund for a Kenyan in Seattle. Several similar campaigns have taken place in the recent past, keeping Kenyans united in these trying times.
