Since the outbreak of this COVID-19 pandemic, various new norms need to be practiced by everyone such as wearing a face mask and also to always use sanitizer everywhere you go. Because of that, a group of students from Sekolah Menengah Pertama (SMP) Muhammadiyah 5 Pucang located specifically in Surabaya Indonesia, had their own initiative to curb the spread of COVID-19.
They have recently produced innovative Anti-Corona prayer mats to curb the spread of COVID-19 when the prayer mats are being used in mosques and also in surau. This is such a great initiative coming from them.
The particular prayer mat is made of plastic and perlak which is a material such as rubber mats. It is actually easy to clean with anti-bacterial liquid. Interestingly, the color of the prayer rug will not fade because it uses special paint and measures 60 x 120 cm. The prayer mat has already received a lot of attention in Indonesia and is expected to be issued in large quantities for the use of Ramadan and Aidilfitri later.
According to Wardatul Ummah who is the teacher that led the project, there were several writings warning the community such as ‘Sesudah Solat, Sila Bersihkan‘, ‘Sila Pakai Masker‘, ‘Cuci Tangan Dengan Sabun‘, and ‘Jaga Jarak Sosial‘ on the prayer mat. She also added, “It is hoped that the production of this prayer mat will benefit Muslims in performing worship as well as open up economic space among students in difficult situations at this time. This idea is 100 percent from students who are not only affected by the pandemic but want to find a way out of some of the problems that occur, especially in the matter of Muslim worship. I think this effort is a good start and the idea is also interesting in that we are vigilant, especially when praying at the surau or mosque”.
Sources: KompasTV