KIU, Main Campus - Nairobi-based Metal Artist, Cyrus Kabiru, best known for his flamboyantly designed eyewear called ‘C-stunners’, made from discarded metal and other materials whilst displaying them through self-portraits has turned his creative talents towards a philanthropic project of making face masks for less fortunate people.

He and a group of artists purchased face masks made from fabric and decorated them in an artistic fashion. It took them just a week and two days to make 1,000 masks which they distributed to residents of Kariobangi, a low-income residential area in Nairobi, on 20th May 2020.

“A lot of artists are doing murals and graphics to educate the community about Covid-19, but we were trying to show how we can educate society in a different way. I have seen that people are not serious about wearing face masks so we tried to come up with an idea that would make them enjoy wearing masks,” said Kabiru.

Kabiru explained that the initial target was 5000 masks, but due to lack of adequate funding, the group had to use their meagre personal savings for the project. He plans to do more masks if and when he gets the funding.