Though far from her home in Buryatia (in Eastern Siberia, Russia), Dr Sayana Namsaraeva is devoting her time to supporting Cambridge residents. When the pandemic broke out she decided to help out by turning to her sewing-machine. First of all, she made over 150 masks for friends, colleagues, local school teachers and more. Then she heard that Addenbrooke’s Hospital is in need of PPE and she teamed up with a neighbourhood group in the Newnham area. They supply her with the right kind of fabric and thread, and she now spends hours every day making overalls, hats and other protective clothing. She heard that the staff appreciate a bit of variety, so she tries to give them an individual touch. Her enterprise has also been supported by a donation from the Mongolia & Inner Asia Studies Unit at the University of Cambridge where Sayana has been a research collaborator for a number of years.
Sayana is an anthropologist and scholar of Chinese and Mongolian history.
