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Co-ops sew 2K gowns for Municipal Contact Tracking System

A group of professionals from the Department of Health’s Municipal Case Investigations and Contact Tracing System (SMICRC, in Spanish) received 2,200 protective gowns through an alliance between the Cooperative Investment and Development Fund (FIDECOOP, in Spanish) and the Plaza Las Américas Foundation.

Industrial textile co-ops in Costura Industrial de Comerìo and Creación de la Montaña in Utuado produced the gowns, upon receiving a combined $15,000 from the Foundation’s Mano Amiga program.

The two operations gained new momentum with the production of protective material necessary to face the emergency caused by the pandemic, the nonprofit said. Each one produced 1,000 protective gowns.

“This program’s support contributed to maintaining and diversifying the jobs of 30 women in these towns of the central region, in addition to contributing to the continuity of the SMICRC, a project of great importance for situation the island is going through,” said FIDECOOP President José Julián Ramírez-Ruiz.

He added that seamstresses from both cooperatives are being trained in making other types of textiles, both in the field of health and haute couture. They also receive education on marketing, fair trade, among others.

The Mano Amiga program is a philanthropic initiative of the Plaza Las Américas Foundation, as well as the Plaza del Caribe Foundation that supports nonprofits offering services mostly in the areas of education, arts and culture, environment and social well-being. “This edition of our program was dedicated to supporting the efforts of nonprofit entities involved in addressing the new reality of COVID-19. We’re pleased to know that, with this initiative, we’re helping to open up new development possibilities for these two sewing cooperatives and, at the same time, we’re helping to protect the health professionals who work in the SMICRCs throughout the island,” said Jaime Fonalledas, president of the foundations.

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This story was written by our staff based on a press release.
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