Bongani felt like he was in a fairytell trance as he sat glued to the television screen watching the president announcing the 21 day lockdown due to the COVID-19 virus. Mixed emotions filtered through the living room, from a sprawling despair on his father’s face, an indifferent shrug of shoulders from his mother to a bright innocence in his younger sister’s eyes.

“Maybe it’s for the best”, his father said glancing at everyone who was still awe-struck by the news. Although they didn’t openly say it, the whole family secretly admired the fortitude that their father exhibited, absorbing any crisis with the ease of a sponge. The lockdown entailed that schools and most workplaces would be closed to curb the proliferating virus. Borders had been closed already to reduce the spiralling cases of infected people around the world.

“Hey Bongani it looks like you will be the first stream of matrics to do Grade 13” Musa his younger sister teased. “Hush Musa this is serious” father reprimanded her. “We have to be extra careful, safety is of utmost importance now for the sake of everyone. Just remember my children we are not stuck at home but we are safe at home. Let’s utilise this time to the best of our ability because in the midst of every crisis lies an opportunity plus at least you have learnt a new word to add to your essays at school ‘quarantined’ because that’s how we will be spending the days that follow,” he chuckled as he cast a mollifying wink towards his concerned son.

Bongani imagined how life would be at home especially with his pestering sister. Sibling rivalry was at the core of many of their debates and quarrels and he wondered how he was going to withstand it. Both his parents worked shifts based work and he sympathised with them on how they would cope financially. Boredom was gnawed at him like a squirrel on a tree stump. Television and radio were abuzz with appalling figures of people who had been infected around the world. Then he remembered his father’s words ‘In every crisis lies opportunity’. At first it was just an ambiguous combination of words but as he washed the dishes that night, those words rang in his mind like an awakening school bell. This statement meant to comfort his family also activated motivational ideas which had been dulled by the ongoing pandemic. The economy was reported to have suffered an acute decline because of this situation and he wondered how he could help his parents make ends meet.

With this sudden vacation, eating became the pastime that everybody enjoyed most so the following day Bongani’s father sent him to buy groceries at the local supermarket. Bongani’s eyes were greeted by a stultifying queue. It snaked from the supermarket gateway, along the main road occasionally interrupted by honking traffic and slithered into another narrow street. His vision stretched forward to locate its end which seemed miles away in the morning drowsiness. Within a thin sliver of time that he had stood behind the last person, scores of other buyers had lengthened the tailing queue behind him.

Tired and sleep induced figures stood motionless like mannequins adorned mostly in loosely hanging morning gowns and slippers. Like a dark sleeping giant the township slowly awakened, a tinge of yellow sunlight hues licked the eastern horizon. A whiff of coldness enveloped the atmosphere and Bongani felt his teeth chattering in his mouth. Clouds of steam shot out of each figure in the queue as they stood 1 metre away from each other. Those were the precautions to prevent the spread of the virus. Stray dogs overturned random bins much to the disgust of the queuing crowd, who cursed, threw stones and chased them away.

“Even the liquor stores are closed” Magaba, a renowned township drunkard complained as his fellow mates shot understanding looks at him. His bloodshot eyes scanned around as his friend Mahofa interrupted him, “But you look like you were drinking last night, how did you get the beer”. “The local shebeen sold it to me but eeish their prices are too exorbitant, imagine a six pack of castle is R180”, he complained. A chorus of surprised exclamations erupted from the engaged listeners. “Then I threatened to report them to the police, only then did we negotiate the price going down, but it’s still too much” he continued. The local shebeens had taken advantage of the scourge to increase their profits. “Now if I can get only 5 teaspoons of beer I will be alright”, Magaba yearned. A raucous uproar of laughter exploded from the listeners. The queue breathed forward.

Three hours later after what seemed like an eternity Bongani’s turn to be served came. Excitement seemed to have sobered Magaba a little. It was nice having people like Magaba around, Bongani thought to himself. They made time move faster with their unrestricted, well-meant humour.

In the store customers were urged to observe the 1 metre apart rule to stop the spread of the virus. A tall muscular entrance guard sanitised customers’ hands and the trolley handles. Upon getting in Bongani suddenly felt like a kid in a candy store. He had visited this shop a multitude of times but on this particular day it felt like his first time. The shelves towered above him like the Great Wall of China and the wide empty aisles reminded him of the Nile valley images that he had seen in a school textbook. He grabbed the essentials and filled his trolley, mainly cleaning materials and food. Another stout store worker moved around with a blaring loudspeaker urging the customers to speed up their buying to accommodate the thronging queue outside.

Upon approaching the array of till operators an idea hit Bongani. It was in the attire of the staff. They were adorned in immaculate uniforms and peculiar masks that covered their mouths. It was meant to curb the spread of the virus. “Next customer please” a light-skinned cashier beckoned Bongani with her smiling eyes that gleamed of kindness. “How are you today” she asked whilst proceeding to move his goods across the scanner. He was pleasantly shocked at such impeccable service. He quietly thought about how much those working at a time like that one deserved a red carpet treatment for their dedication and commitment. The mask had captivated Bongani so he took a picture of it as per her approval. Bongani’s business fur had been pricked.

At midday he reached home after surviving the scorching heat. A vision of the face mask that the cashier wore was still etched in his memory and that made his mind restless, in a surprisingly pleasant way. He delivered the groceries in the kitchen and headed straight for the internet and researched about prevention masks. The myriad of information he dug up was mind-opening and his mindset was set on designing a more effective face mask to reduce the spread of the virus. “What’s wrong with the current mask being used Bongani?” Musa innocently asked. “It covers a smaller surface area of the face, I want to come up with a more preventive shield for the whole face” he replied, savouring the sudden flow of ideas rushing through his mind. He felt it was no longer time to be asking what was being done for him but what he was doing to improve the situation during the crisis. Musa who was studying Fashion and Fabrics advised him about how thicker cotton would help alleviate the passing of the virus. She drafted up a few sketches which covered more surface area of the face and they both used them as possible solutions before settling on the final solution. Innovation combined with passion was taking over.

Movement in the community was restricted so the following day Bongani decided to sew what he had on paper on his mother’s sewing machine. This crisis needed creativity and mobilisation of every resource they had. He used some t-shirts that he no longer wore to make his sample designs. After that he posted the pictures on the internet. Within a few hours he got a multitude of views including an investor who was willing to sponsor his project. Bongani was over the moon with joy. “How did you know about this project?” he just had to ask his investor who had already injected his first cash donation into Bongani’s bank account for the project to start. “I’m Mr Mahofa’s brother so my nephew shared it on Facebook and it caught my attention. My fashion business acumen is telling me that it’s a lucrative investment plus it’s for a worthy cause so I will cover all the necessary costs.”

Bongani was exhilarated as he shuffled into the colourful exhibition of prevention masks that was organised and hosted by Mr Mahofa’s company. He felt elated as various stakeholders shook his hand, endorsed and funded his mask design describing it as a vital and timely innovation.

By Conrad Kaupo

From: Zimbabwe

Twitter: EngConrad