The Nelson Mandela Bay Science and Technology Centre (NMBSTC), operated by the Mandela Bay Development Agency (MBDA,) has produced hand sanitisers, face masks, and hand lotions with antibacterial and antiviral properties.

The centre recently hosted the IM Africa Foundation, in partnership with FOI Science and the MBDA. The project produced more than 2,000 bottles of hand sanitisers, 1,000 masks, and antibacterial/antiviral lotion. The hand sanitisers will be distributed to local organisations, Small, Medium and Micro-Entrepreneurs (SMMEs), Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), Minority Business Development Agencies (MBDAs), and schools.

The manager of the centre, Singathwa Kuli, said, ‘We understand the socioeconomic challenges posed by Covid-19, hence we have prioritised employing 15 previously unemployed members of the community’.

He added that the objective of the programme was to empower these 15 individuals through skills development that would provide sustenance for them and their respective communities during the pandemic.

NMBSTC provides educational support programmes, which include identifying and nurturing poorly resourced schools in the region. Kuli stated that NMBSTC was well prepared to assist the Department of Basic Education with their curriculum catch-up strategy when schools reopen on 01 June, 2020.

‘The Science Centre’s role of assisting learners to acquire basic knowledge of science through developed learning programmes, including education, training, and skills development, is deeply needed during the Covid-19 global pandemic. Practical sessions will be administered at the schools and/or centres on request once the curriculum catch-up strategy has been publicised. Recorded media will also be made available via NMBSTC social platforms’, he concluded.

Source: News24

Photo source: Marco Verch