Karoo Taxidermy donates fogging machines in fight against Covid-19

GRAAFF-REINET NEWS - As part of Karoo Taxidermy's mission to combat the spread of the Covid-19 virus in the Dr Beyers Naude district, 16 beneficiaries received high-powered fogging machines and personal protective equipment last Wednesday.

Robyn Rütters, the brand manager at Karoo Taxidermy, said they have been working with the Democratic Alliance in Graaff-Reinet, in particular ward councilor Ricardo Smith, who has been instrumental in identifying the beneficiaries for this project.

In a hand-over ceremony at Karoo Taxidermy on Wednesday 15 February DA Member of Parliament, Samantha Graham-Mare, said in her opening speech the third wave of Covid-19 saw 71 cases of Covid in Nieu-Bethesda, while Graaff-Reinet had more than 300 cases with several children contracting the virus.

"The Department of Education was unable to afford the cost of sanitising their schools, but through the generosity of Karoo Taxidermy, in collaboration with Smith, the fogger machine was unleashed. Having a fogger machine on hand has proven to be extremely beneficial in the fight against Covid.

"With the fourth wave already muted for this year, and herd immunity throughout the vaccination programme still a distant dream, Covid-19 will be with us for the foreseeable future. That is why the donation of these fogging machines are such an amazing investment. It will mean that our community will have an additional mechanism on hand to fight the spread of the virus quickly and effectively."

The vision behind the fogging machine allocations to organisations is that schools, churches, old age homes and social services organisations, which have received a fogging machine through this initiative, will help other schools, churches and organisations within the area as a collaboration amongst all in our community.

This will enable our community to deal with the spread of the virus far more effectively.

A fogging machine has also been allocated to the DA, which will be used to assist poor people where there are positive cases in their homes and where they cannot even afford to buy the basic sanitising necessities, such as bleach.

Frank Gentry, owner of Karoo Taxidermy, explained that the initial reason behind the fogging machines programme, was part of a job creation opportunity for those who were out of work during the lockdown. However, it became obvious that the community needed assistance with sanitising as police stations and other crucial social service institutions were affected severely by the virus.

It was then decided to donate them to the community, based on the principle to "teach a man how to fish, rather than to give him the fish" and reap the benefits of the skill and the machine far further.

Each of the beneficiaries was trained at the premises of the Karoo Taxidermy on how to use these high-powered fogging machines while taxidermy staff were all actively participated in conducting the training and preparation of this successful event.

The recipients of the fogging machines and PPE packs were as follows:

Aalwyn Old Age Home (Aberdeen), Brandovale Primary School (Graaff-Reinet), Congregational Church (Rietbron), Democratic Alliance (Dr Beyers Naude), Eliakim Cluster Foster Home (Graaff-Reinet), Gert Greeff Old Age Home (Willowmore), Huis van de Graaff Old Age Home (Graaff-Reinet), Isibane Primary School (Graaff-Reinet), Kroonvale Primary School (Graaff-Reinet), Lettie de Klerk School (Nieu-Bethesda), Lingcom School (Graaff-Reinet), Narsing Street School (Graaff-Reinet), Siya Pambili Shelter for Abused Woman (Graaff-Reinet), Steytlerville Old Age Home (Steytlerville), VGK Church (Graaff-Reinet) and Welverdien Tehuis (Jansenville)

For more information on the Karoo Taxidermy Covid-19 programme, click here.

Representatives of 16 beneficiaries received high-powered fogging machines and personal protective equipment from Karoo Taxidermy for the fight against Covid-19. DA Member of Parliament, Samantha Graham-Mare, who was the keynote speaker, stands in the middle at the back. Frank Gentry, owner of Karoo Taxidermy, is standing second from the left.