'I'm the one who has been supported all along' Japanese kimono teacher made more than 1,000 masks

Face masks charity kimono

Kyoko Hodgkinson, a Sydney-based Japanese kimono-dressing teacher, has started making face masks and donating them during the national lockdown Source: Kyoko Hodgkinson (Kimono Australia)

Kyoko Hodgkinson, a Sydney-based kimono-dressing teacher, has been making face masks and donating them.


In mid-March, Ms. Hodgkinson started her own project called 'Wish Well Mask', which makes face masks and donates them to anyone who needs them. 

Ms. Hodgkinson has set a goal of making a thousand masks and she achieved it in mid-May, when Sydney started re-opening.   Ms. Hodgkinson put a pause on her project briefly. 

However, in recent weeks Ms. Hodgkinson started to see rising demands for her masks and received messages from her 'regulars' and even from strangers who heard about her project through word of mouth.  So she resumed making face masks at a pace of up to 100 masks a week.
Face masks charity kimono
Source: Kyoko Hodgkinson (Kimono Australia)
Ms. Hodgkinson used her family dining table at home for making masks.  That means, during the first two months of the intense sewing-mask phase during the lockdown, her family couldn't use the table.  But her family supported Ms. Hodgkinson wholeheartedly.

Ms. Hodgkinson jokingly said that her project is a rather 'selfish act' than 'selfless' because she enjoys the whole mask-making process (especially choosing cloth material for masks) and she is the one who receives all support from her family, friends, and new friends whom she wouldn't meet if she didn't start the project.

In the audio, Ms. Hodgkinson tells us how the idea of making face masks came about and why she could keep going and make more than a thousands masks.
Face masks charity kimono
Source: Kyoko Hodgkinson (Kimono Australia)

Metropolitan Melbourne residents are subject to Stage 4 restrictions and must comply with a curfew between the hours of 8pm and 5am. During the curfew, people in Melbourne can only leave their house for work, and essential health, care or safety reasons. 

Between 5am and 8pm, people in Melbourne can leave the home for exercise, to shop for necessary goods and services, for work, for health care, or to care for a sick or elderly relative. 

All Victorians must wear a face covering when they leave home, no matter where they live.

People in Australia must stay at least 1.5 metres away from others. Check your state’s restrictions on gathering limits. 

If you are experiencing cold or flu symptoms, stay home and arrange a test by calling your doctor or contact the Coronavirus Health Information Hotline on 1800 020 080. 

News and information is available in 63 languages at sbs.com.au/coronavirus

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