A former St. Malo resident now living in China is sending medical supplies back home to help slow the spread of COVID-19.

“It all started when I was chatting with my mom about the situation in Steinbach,” offers Marie Willman. “She has some health problems and she is working as a manager in Superstore. While other people are able to isolate, she’s been having to see people every day.”

Some of the supplies Willman is sending to Manitoba (photo credit: Marie Willman)Willman says lately her mother’s worry has been growing with the number of provincial cases of the virus. Overseas, and unable to comfort her physically, Willman decided to gather and ship potentially useful supplies.

“Since the pandemic started calming down here, China has started sending out doctors supplies, masks, and gloves, to anywhere that needs them.”

In the city of Suzhou, where Willman lives, she has become one of the conduits for shipping such supplies to Manitoba.

“People here recognize how much help they got from Canada and a lot of different countries," she explains. "It’s just one of those things where everyone wanted to help and I was willing to take the lead.”

Altogether, Willman collected 1,400 masks that will be dispersed throughout Manitoba and likely beyond. Because the provincial government is doing a great job supplying health-care providers with the resources they need, she says her equipment will be distributed among other essential services like retail workers, truckers, and others who may have fallen through the cracks.

Willman stresses that she is by no means the sole organizer of donations in Suzhou either. In her city alone there are two depots sending relief packages across the world and each processes roughly 100 shipments per day.

“I’ve really been impressed with China’s global leadership,” she says, “they're sending a whole lot of supplies abroad right now!”

China was the first country rocked by the coronavirus and, because of that, they are already through the worst of it. Where Manitoba’s rate of transmission is still climbing, it has fallen considerably in Suzhou. On Wednesday, Willman says she actually returned to work for the first time since her self-isolation began.

As the situation progresses in Manitoba, Willman encourages residents to read a lot of books, do a lot of yard work, and know that it will all be over eventually.

Read more: Woman From St. Malo Quarantined In China