Christians in China donate personal protective equipment (PPE) to the vulnerable population in the country.
The elderly are strongly advised to stay home and practice the health protocols imposed by the government to protect them from the Coronavirus. With the high demand for PPEs, assisted-living communities, among other institutions, face a hard time at procuring enough protection for residents and staff.
We want people to know that the love of Christ is the same in the U.S., across the world and in China, and we’re in the same family. —Pastor Charlotte Chen-Tsai
According to a survey by the National Center for Assisted Living, more than half of assisted living communities have PPEs to last them within two weeks. More than 70% of them already requested additional PPEs from health agencies, but the supply remains low, forcing workers to reuse disposable PPEs or wear homemade PPEs such as washable face masks and use trash bags as gowns, reports Times Record News.
Learning about the situation of nursing homes and assisted living centers in the US, Pastor Charlotte Chen-Tsai in Shanghai, China, prayed to God for help. She learned that many nursing homes especially in poor neighborhoods don’t have protection from the deadly virus. “My heart was really saddened and afraid that a whole generation might be wiped out by the pandemic,” she said.
Pastor Charlotte and other Christians have been purchasing and donating PPEs to people in Wuhan city and Hubei province. Later on, the group was able to distribute a gift called a “Gospel package” consisting of face masks, a Gospel tract, sometimes vitamin-C supplements, and sanitizing wipes. These parcels are distributed to hospitals, testing labs, orphanages, and various churches across the country.
Pastor Charlotte wants to do the same to people in America, but shipping from China to the US posed a problem. Through a Bible study group, she met a couple who owns a company in the US that manufactures PPE. “And so the lady went back, talked to her husband, and her husband said, ‘Oh, let’s donate 100,000 masks to this activity,'” shared the pastor.
Together with the North America Mainland Chinese Mission (NAMCM) and her personal connections, Pastor Charlotte came up with a list of more than 250 facilities in the US which could benefit from the donation.
“They ask the questions: ‘Do they have the confirmed the cases of COVID-19? How many of them? How many residents? How many caregivers are there in that location? Are they in a financially stable area or a poorer area?’ Because we wanted to put the masks in use in the most-needed places,” said Pastor Charlotte.
“We want people to know that the love of Christ is the same in the US, across the world and in China, and we’re in the same family. Hopefully we’ll be able to share some love, some Gospel messages, and also help—to some extent—other people in need.”
