The United Nations Department of Global Communications (DGC) promotes global awareness and United Nations paintings through its networked paintings of United Nations Information Centres (UNICs) around the world. The United Nations Information Centre in Rio de Janeiro is aimed at public premises in Brazil.
In Ipiranga, a rural Piauí town of 10,000 people, an artisans’ organization found itself with less work due to the coronavirus pandemic. Aware of the lack of private protective equipment (PPE) for fitness professionals in the region, the Association of Artisans of the City of Ipiranga-Piauí (ASSARIPI) replaced its old paint scheme to produce masks and hats.
Until now, ASSARIPI artisans have been using the stems and fibres of the buriti – a local plant in the region – to produce furniture, baskets, ornamental objects, garments and bags, with the support of the Viva o Semiárido project, funded through the International Fund. Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Secretary of State for Family Farming. Lídia Ribeiro de Andrade, president of the Association, explained that the concept of assistance was born from the main call for protective equipment.
“In the beginning, we only made a few pieces and gave them away to elderly people in need. Within a few days, we were generating protective equipment for the local gym and, shortly after, for the regional hospital in the nearby city of Picos,” he said.
“They have already manufactured masks, caps and medical gowns for fitness in the Vale do Sambito region,” said Francisco das Chagas Ribeiro, coordinator of the Viva o Semiárido project. He explained that the Association is adapting the machines to produce 500 pieces of non-public coverage according to the day, which will be distributed through the Project’s advertising network.
With three children and five grandchildren, Iolita Ramos, one of the co-founders of ASSARIPI, depends on the association’s source of income to survive, but now invests all her power in a spirit of solidarity. “We are facing the coronavirus and we all want to do our bit to beat it,” he said.
“We are working on the production of masks, but we would like to produce even more,” Iolita said.
The demand is such that the Association is unable to meet certain requests. “Even hospitals and gyms in the capital of Piauí, Teresina and other states have contacted us, but we can’t meet all those requests,” Lídia lamented.
Aware of the high demand, the Secretariat of Family Agriculture – IFAD’s local partner in the Viva o Semiárido mission – contacted two other associations of small rural industrialists in the neighbouring municipalities of Nossa Senhora de Nazaré and Batalha.
Each of those partnerships will produce 800 pieces per week, which, combined with the 500 pieces produced daily through ASSARIPI, will produce approximately 5,000 pieces of PPE every seven days.
“You see, we’re not making these pictures to make ourselves feel better. That kind of traditional perception of what a benefactor is. We are making these paintings because we are completely convinced that it is not necessary, in today’s world, for so many other people. to enjoy the discomfort, for so many other people to enjoy the hardships, for so many other people to see their lives and livelihoods at risk. “
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