In virus period, buttoned headbands a new add-on

Mariecar Jara-Puyod, Senior Reporter

With the face masks now come a new accessory: the buttoned headbands.

Appreciation goes to a Nursing director who had approached Ceri Rocca several weeks back and asked if her group could provide something by which hospital staff would no longer bear ears strain and the discomfort of wearing face masks for hours.

Gulf Today got to know about this new fashion through Cynthia Fernandes, a housewife, who, apart from having sewn face masks from cloth scraps alongside her quilting lady friends in Sharjah where she resides, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, has also dabbled on creating buttoned headbands.

“There has been a lot of articles in these bands coming out of other countries and what a difference they were making to the day-to-day lives of the medics wearing masks for extended periods of time,” Rocca said recently.

She continued: “I was contacted by a Nursing director that asked if our group might be able to make some for the medical workers across the UAE.”

The group being referred to by Rocca’s friend was the Rags-to-Riches.

Organized in 2014 by Barbara Evans and Rocca in Dubai, and Fahmida Seitz in Abu Dhabi, Rags-to-Riches has 270 listed members to date.

“We are a group of enthusiastic creatives who put our sewing, knitting, crochet, quilting and crafting hobbies to good use; extremely mindful about sustainability,” shared Rocca.

With Evans back in the UK since two years back, Rags-to-Riches continuously fashions “clothes, toys, blankets and reusable sanitary pads “out of pre-loved fabrics such as bed linens, curtains and towels.”

These have not only been enjoyed by UAE residents but have reached other shores as well.

Through this COVID19-induced lockdown, 80 Rags-to-Riches members have answered the call to serve hundreds of medical frontliners across the country with their selflessness, imagination and patience. Not to mention time and of course all the gadgets they utilize, and materials they collect.

Among the happiest beneficiaries are the 250 physicians and nurses of the Amina Hospital in Ajman.

The hospital Nursing assistant director Idil Ismail said: “Wearing (personal protective equipment) for long hours is not easy. But the face mask bands gifted to our team have helped us to relieve the pressure of the elastic bands from the ears. These give us comfort. Our nurses use these for more than 12 hours during shift.”

Infection Control nurse Aneetha Paul and Nursing secretary Rosny Thankachan were more than grateful.

Paul added: “Very few people think about how we can support the struggling healthcare workers. The value of a small piece of cloth is adorable when it is (recycled) as a headband for fixing the mask. We appreciate those blessed hands behind these.”

Among the headbands makers are Middlesex University London Hub-Dubai administrator Maria Colaco, finance analyst Lijee Jose from Ajman, Abu Dhabi resident retired registered nurse Ann Bond, and Dubai-based homemaker Vidhya Michael, business owner Zahra Hussein, and podcast host Amanda Fristrom.

Fristrom said: “The support, encouragement and enthusiasm for helping those in the frontlines has created a wonderful community in itself.”

Colaco said: “This crucial time has let us all realize that we are all in this together. Our race, religion, caste and social status (are irrelevant).”

Bond said: “It shows indeed there is love and humanity in this world”

Huseini said: “We ladies are bees and work unified just as bees in a beehive to achieve our goals.”

Michael was thankful to all the frontliners “including our friendly grocery delivery boys” and added: “Seeing this thing happen makes us realize that we can turn our passion into something that is beneficial for the greater good.”

Jose desired to help and the initiative allowed her to do just that.