Coronavirus: National youth service corps donates sanitisers, other preventive items to Oyo state government

Segun Showunmi in Ibadan

The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Oyo State  on Tuesday donated cartons of alcohol-based hand sanitisers,  handwash and face masks, which were produced by corps members to the State Government as support in addressing the coronavirus pandemic.

Penpushing reports that the State Coordinator of the Corps, Mrs Grace Ogbuogebe presented the donations to Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Mr Seun Fakorede, who in return handed over  to the Commissioner for Health, Dr Bashir Bello.

The State Coordinator disclosed that some corps members serving in the state produced the items as a result of skill acquisition training they were made to pass through while on Orientation Camp in the state.

Penpushing further reports that, Ogbuogebe noted that the items were donated to the government in line with the directives of the Director-General of National Youth Service Corps( NYSC), Brig Gen. Shuaibu Ibrahim, that corps members should complement efforts of the government in fighting the Covid-19, saying the donated items were produced in accordance with the standards prescribed by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The donated items were well branded with the name and logo of National Youth Service Corps ( NYSC) in Oyo State, both on the hand sanitiser and handwash, with  the label on the hand sanitiser indicating that it contains 70 per cent of alcohol.

”The items that we donated to the government are World Health Organisation standards. Anyone who uses it has nothing to do with germs and coronavirus. Our corps members are amiable. Immediately the challenge came from the Director-General that all corps members should be around and should add to whatever the government is doing to assist the government, they have been up and doing’.

“They produced and donated the items themselves, we started the training with them in the camp through skill acquisition, so that after NYSC, they will not be roaming the streets, looking for work’, she explained.

‘So, when the challenge of this pandemic came in, they have to take the challenge by taking the bull by the horns to assist the state government at all levels. In fact, we have also donated to some hospitals in the state. Now, we are donating to the state government.”

“We donated four cartons of hand sanitiser of WHO standard, we also donated cartons of handwash and face masks that can prevent 99 per cent of any virus or germs from the mouth, nose and eyes.’, she added.

‘We have the capacity to mass produce in case the state government wants to us to do so. Two corps members did the face masks, and four corps members did the sanitiser and handwash”, the coordinator stated

Penpushing further reports that the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Bashir Bello, and his counterpart in the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Seun Fakorede, thanked the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) for the gesture, promising that the items would be justifiably used.

“This is very laudable one. The corps members, under the supervision of NYSC, have taken the initiative in order to end the current situation of COVID-19. I am particularly impressed because these items will go a long way in helping to reduce the spread of COVID-19.”

Penpushing also reports that, the commissioner, speaking on the possibility of collaborating with National Youth Service Corps(NYSC) for mass production of the donated items for the state,  said, “in time of pandemic like this, you don’t rule out any probability’.