From the moment Cyris Cloete got out of bed during the long days of the Covid-19 lockdown, the plight of the country's health workers was on his mind.
"I just imagined how scared they must be, especially those working at (coronavirus) testing stations," he says.
A software developer, the Pukekohe resident decided to utilise the 3D printer in his home to do something about it: Together with five other nearby 3D printer owners - none of whom know each other and have only met online - Cloete set about printing protective plastic face shields for essential workers.
In two weeks, the group produced over 800 shields (the number has now surpassed 1000) which they distributed free of charge to doctors, nurses, dentists, physios and other health workers as far afield as Whangarei.
"Our main focus was to make the shields for essential medical workers," he says. "I could only think about how they must be feeling and I wanted to do something that not only kept them safe but made them feel safe."
Cloete got the idea from overseas, using a face shield design created in Sweden. Posting his thoughts on Facebook he soon attracted other 3D printer owners Chris North, Rick Lussi, Dave Woodley, Peter Lowden and Craig Parker – who all put their hands up to join in.
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A Pukekohe taxi driver, John Hartley, heard about the good deeds and, as an essential worker himself, offered to deliver the shields at his own expense.
Although none of the seven have met, they drew the attention of Karen Nunes, a relief teacher of Tuakau, who was so impressed with their efforts after following them on Facebook she nominated them for the ASB Good as Gold Isolation Edition award.
"I don't know any of them either, but I saw what they were doing on the local Facebook community page," she says. "I kept following them and thought, 'wow, they are amazing'; I just thought this was something that needed to be rewarded."
The ASB thought so too, awarding each of the men $1000: "Kiwis are known for their friendly and caring nature, and this has been so clearly demonstrated over the last few months with the countless acts of selflessness and generosity that we have been hearing about," says ASB Counties and Waikato regional manager Mark Hayward.
"It's been great to see the country come together through this crisis, and these stories really highlight that."
Cloete says he and North organised the production system and put out a post on Facebook looking for people wanting PPE (personal protection equipment): "We explained there was no cost for them and we got absolutely inundated with orders.
"In two weeks we produced and delivered over 800 shields," he says. "Each one takes about an hour to make and while I can't say how many hours I personally put in, my printer was running from dawn to dusk, as soon as I got up I would turn it on."
They used the 3D printers to produce brackets (to go around a person's head) which were then fitted with A4 plastic sheets donated to the team.
"Each shield cost about 50c to make which, between the six of us, was not too much," says Cloete. "We've slowed off a bit now because we are back working from home."
Cloete says Hartley contributed a huge amount of time at his own expense not only delivering the shields but picking up fresh supplies of plastic sleeves: "He spent hours each day with petrol paid out of his own pocket. We offered him compensation but he rejected it."
Among the deliveries were 50 sent (by courier) to Whangarei along with hundreds distributed in Auckland, many put to use by health workers at Covid-19 testing stations across the city.
Cloete says the group had plenty of feedback: "We had lots of photos sent to us from people who told us they were really grateful for the shields. It was wonderful to hear and made us realise we needed to keep going.
"Yes, we were stuck in our homes, but we were safe. I couldn't imagine how scared some of the health workers would be.
"But it is important to say these shields are not an official product; we were offering them to people who otherwise had nothing; where possible, people should always use officially approved product."
Cloete has lived in Pukekohe for four years and he and wife Sarah have a 17-month-old son Chester. He says he was able to spend so much time working on the shields because Sarah "kept the house running" while he was busy.
What does he plan to do with the $1000? "Well, Mother's Day is here and it will also help us get through the lockdown."