Healing Waters going green

Healing Waters International Ministries has come up with a “green solution”, to assist in the fight against COVID-19.

As a grantee of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Small Grants Programme (SGP) implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Healing Waters International Ministries (HWIM) is now producing products such as hand sanitiser, organic hand wash and hand moisturiser, as well as an all-purpose sanitising cleaner which can be used around the home, to help in the fight against COVID-19.

Dr. Angela Moore, President of Healing Waters International Ministries spoke about her efforts to contribute this “green solution”, which comes after the successful launch of her recent Go Green Teens project, which encourages youth to look to a cleaner, greener future.

“Dealing with the Go Green Teens Project, I formulated a hand sanitiser, a hand wash and moisturiser for the hands. So when the COVID-19 pandemic came about, I then decided to do another level of testing on the products. So I sent them to the Government lab. Two labs tested them and they came back at the standard that could be used against COVID-19. So we are now actually in the process of manufacturing both hand sanitisers and sanitising solutions. With the hand sanitising solution, we have also included Aloe Vera from Barbados and Sargassum Seaweed, which is part of the Blue Economy Project with the United Nations,” Dr. Moore explained.

She added, “The sanitising solution, that one also has in a lot of Aloe and that one is used to spray around the home. So you can use it to spray your shoes, your clothes, even your pillows. It can also be used to sanitise and wipe down counter tops, toilet bowls and sinks, as it is an all-purpose cleaner and it has in 70 to 75 per cent alcohol,  which is perfect against COVID-19”.

“So the hand sanitiser, the sanitising solution, the organic hand wash and organic hand moisturisers, these are the things that we are producing, to assist with the pandemic right now,” Dr. Moore stated.

Speaking in more detail to the Go Green Teens project, Dr. Moore noted that under that initiative, teens are taught how “going green” is better for the environment and also for their health and well-being. Using the grant from the GEF Small Grants Programme, HWIM has been seeking to empower a number of teens in local schools. Healing Waters has been encouraging youth to make use of organic products and to also take care of themselves, by eating a healthy diet and getting some exercise. The initiative also gives them access to training to also make organic products and provides them with an internship.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the programme has however had to tweak its area of focus, and though some aspects will be brought to fruition at a later date, the focus at present is on responding to the pandemic, by producing the sanitising products, which embrace and bring into focus the green economy. Heavy focus is also being placed on the blue economy, given that the products include local inputs, in keeping with efforts to sustainably use resources from the ocean.