The Shenzhen Women and Children’s Development Foundation has donated 30,000 face masks, including 10,000 children’s masks, to help combat the ongoing coronavirus pandemic in Germany’s largest state, Bavaria.
A donation ceremony was held at the foundation’s office in Futian District yesterday.
All of the masks have already been packed and will be shipped to Bavaria as quickly as possible.
The donation was initiated by the foundation in partnership with Shenzhen Charity Federation-Wote Love Foundation and Bao’an Sino-German (Europe) Industrial Development Cooperation Alliance (BIDA).
Lucie Merkle, chief representative at the State of Bavaria-China Office, said the donation was welcomed and appreciated. “It is a donation which is much needed in Germany at the moment. It shows Shenzhen’s concern for Bavaria in times of difficulties and I’m sure it will bring Shenzhen and Bavaria closer together.”
Merkle said that masks top the list as the most needed materials in Germany, followed by protective clothing, gloves, face shields and other protective gear for health workers as local medical supplies have run very low.
“Guangdong and Bavaria share sister province-state relations. Meanwhile, Shenzhen enjoys a very friendly relationship with the German state. I think the donation is a symbol of friendship. It means a lot to help a friend in need and we do it with willingness,” said Wu Kai, secretary general of BIDA.
In addition to masks, a letter of support and a batch of heartfelt postcards will also be delivered to Bavaria. On the postcards are paintings drawn by Shenzhen children, which were created to either pay homage to the frontline medical workers or to encourage children in the virus-hit areas.
“By sending these postcards, we are also inviting Bavarian children to participate in our activity called ‘Project of City Memory,’ with the hope of promoting children’s interaction between Shenzhen and Bavaria,” said Lin Junjie, head of the foundation’s cooperation and development department.
According to the foundation, the activity aims to collect inspiring words, paintings, photos and videos that encourage joint efforts to fight COVID-19.
The region of Bavaria remains the epicenter of the outbreak in Germany with 26,124 confirmed cases as of Tuesday, local time in Germany, according to Russian News Agency TASS.