With the unprecedented challenges of Covid-19, the deaf/hard of hearing community became even more vulnerable and found it extremely difficult to communicate with lips unseen. Therefore, a timely, and much-needed initiative was started to produce and distribute 5000 transparent masks to frontline workers, deaf schools, hospital speech therapy wards, etc. To create a more inclusive survival plan during Covid-19.

The goal of the project was to immediately distribute these transparent masks to the most vulnerable communities and encourage the circulation of these transparent masks in the local market by creating a design that leaves no one behind. The project team manufactured 5000 masks through a small business owner and distributed them throughout Sri Lanka:

• 100 masks were distributed to the Election Commission of Sri Lanka, during the Parliamentary Elections in November 2020 and these were worn by the polling center officials to support those who lip read.


• 3000 masks were given to Sri Lanka Central Federation of the Deaf (SLCFD), the apex body in Sri Lanka working to strengthen the participation and representation of the deaf/hard of hearing community, which has a number of centers spread throughout the country. They had been planning to purchase these masks from abroad and they were overjoyed to find out the hub was able to manufacture them locally and donate them for free as it would have been a huge cost to import these kinds of masks.


• The balance masks were distributed among deaf/hard of hearing school children and their teachers in rural parts of Sri Lanka in the North and the East mainly. Masks were also distributed to hospitals with speech therapy wards.

"Wow! You'll truly made a revolution," was one quote received by a recipient.