A Cape Town printing company is joining the fight against coronavirus and protecting our youngest members of society by donating face shields to underprivileged schools.

Grades 7 and 12 are the first learners to have returned to school during Level 3 of the lockdown and many parents are concerned about the potential health risks. Face shields are a viable alternative to face masks, as it allows for more comfortable breathing for those who have to wear them for extended periods of time.

Webprinter is supporting schools in need with the help of the public, to enable learners to go to school protected and reassured through their ‘1MillionSmiles’ project.

The face shields come in fun colours and designs.

“We would like to challenge South Africans to donate face shields [via the project] to their local school or any underprivileged school,” Peter Kohnert, owner of Webprinter told Good Things Guy.

“Our aim is to distribute one million face shields to schools across South Africa and we need your help. You can sponsor a specific school to receive face shields, or you make a cash donation and we select the school. We will then print and deliver. It’s that easy,” 1MillionSmiles says on their website.

The teachers at Parow North Primary proudly show off their face shields.

The project has donated 9 960 face shields to 20 schools across the country thus far.

“They can see the teachers’ faces and teachers can see them and it doesn’t irritate the skin. So they are very comfortable and really light. They weigh 30g. So it’s easy to wear for a longer time than the face mask,” Kohnert added.

“The feedback we had so far is amazing,” Kohnert told Cape Town ETC. “Some schools have declined our offer as they have enough PPE, and we respect that. But others were so thankful and said we are an answer to their prayers,” he added.

Take a look at how it works:

To find out more or get involved, visit their website here. 

Pictures: Peter Kohnert

Article written by