PNA News: Young CDO entrepreneurs join hands to help medical front-liners
(Source: https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1098469)

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – A group of young entrepreneurs is stepping up to the plate by using their time and resources to help medical front-liners here battle the 2019 coronavirus disease (Covid-19).

On Wednesday, donors distributed hundreds of face shields to the health personnel of the government-run Northern Mindanao Medical Center (NMMC)--the designated medical facility in the region to accommodate persons under investigations and those suspected of being infected with Covid-19.

One of the donors, Raven Duran, a 25-year-old entrepreneur who founded the information technology firm XDevs based here, contributing to the effort to combat Covid-19 was a sensible thing to do when small businesses like him are on temporary shutdown.

Duran said and a group of young business owners organized themselves online to produce face shields and other personal protective equipment (PPE) after seeing the need.

At first, Duran said they wanted to manufacture 3D-printed ventilators but opted to go into face shield production as these are easier and faster to make.  

“We have seen how hard our front liners are working to stop the Covid-19 pandemic. At least they will have something to use to keep them safe,” he said.

Duran partnered up with the CDO Makers Response Group, a loose group of mostly young entrepreneurs to produce face shields and other PPE using four 3D printers. The production began in his home mid-March.

It takes an hour and a half to make a face shield frame using plastic filament, he said. The face shield is made up of a plastic frame and acetate.

“There are different designs, but our design is easy to make and it is also sturdy,” he said.

Duran said some of the materials for the face shield are provided by the Department of Trade and Industry.

“We got a request from the NMMC for more than a thousand face shields. We aim to deliver that number,” Duran said.

On its Facebook page, CDO Makers Response Team said Wednesday they have delivered 348 face shields to NMMC as of March 26.

“We are still fast-tracking our production speeds with the help of more 3D printing volunteers,” the group said.

The team said they are currently prioritizing NMMC for the production of face shield “as it is now the center of Covid-19 response in the region.”

John Vincent Fiel, 27, co-founder of Wela School Systems--a company that makes radio frequency identification system in learning institutions--said they are making sure that the finished face shields are sanitized before turning these over to the DTI.

Fiel appealed to businesses and schools that have the necessary equipment to pitch in and help them produce face shields and other PPE for the health personnel. (PNA)