BANGKOK (Thailand) -  As a society, we need all the support we can get from those who can provide such during these difficult times. Basketball Sport Association of Thailand (BSAT) President, Nipondh Chawalitmontien, has been lending out a helping hand with his resources to assist the combat against COVID-19 in the country.

Aside from his position as President of BSAT, Chawalitmontien is also the Finance Director of Hi-Tech Apparel - a manufacturer and exporter of garments, which also includes sporting apparel. In cooperation with the government and private sectors, Chawalitmontien had devoted a number of manufacturing lines at the Hi-Tech Apparel factory for mass-production hygienic masks.

"COVID-19 is a major worldwide issue that none of us have ever faced before in our lives," Chawalitmontien said. "We have to help each other."

"I'm not a doctor. I don't have a hospital. What I have is a factory that can manufacture clothing, and that's what I can do to help."

The plan aimed to produce at least four million masks over two months to be distributed to those in need. Through the channels of BSAT, masks were distributed to the Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT), Ministry of Tourism and Sports, Bangkok City, as well as the member clubs of BSAT across the entire country.

"At first, we only started with a plan to produce masks for the 14,000 lives in our factory."

"Then we also distributed to public hospitals with fundings from the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI). We also donated masks to the Red Cross, which were then distributed to blood donation centers across the country."

"We handed out free masks to communities in need with distribution spots in various public locations."

"The masks were distributed to sports organizations through BSAT such as SAT and Bangkok City."

"All of BSAT members as well as basketball academies, basketball programs in schools, and even public basketball courts were allocated masks as well."

"The COVID-19 pandemic has affected a great number of people around the world. It's something that extends beyond sports and requires all of us to take action – both as individuals and as members of society," said FIBA President Hamane Niang.

"On behalf of FIBA, I would like to congratulate BSAT President Mr. Chawalitmontien who stepped up in such a big way to help others in a time of need. Hopefully his remarkable initiative sets an example for other members of the FIBA family who are in a position to help."

The masks consist of two layers; the outer layer is made from fabric for children's clothing while the inner layer is made from fabric used in sportswear, which can provide protection from secretions down to the size of 5 microns. These masks can also be washed up to 60 times.

"Our masks are reusable and washable, which is enough for regular citizens," Chawalitmontien added. "With N95 masks and single-use hygienic masks in limited stock, they should be reserved for those in the medical industry working in the frontline."

"Therefore, we had these masks manufactured which have been approved by both the Ministry of Public Health and the Ministry of Industry to be able to protect users from  contracting COVID-19 to a certain level."

BSAT has been active in hosting FIBA events in recent years, whether it was the FIBA U19 Women's Basketball World Cup, FIBA U18 Women's Asian Championship 2016, FIBA U18 Asian Championship 2018, among others. However, in these times where the world of basketball is on pause, BSAT has not stopped to make sure that the people of basketball in the country from players to coaches to referees among others are provided with equipment that they might need to stay healthy.

"All sports had stopped playing, and my question was what BSAT could do for the society in such times," said Chawalitmontien. "We called for a meeting and decided to use a portion of our budget, which includes what we had received from FIBA, to help out with the costs of production and distribution."

"The distribution by BSAT was not limited to only those in the basketball and sports community, but included any other organizations that reached out to us."

Thailand currently has over 2,500 confirmed COVID-19 patients with 40 deaths, though the number of newly confirmed patients has seen a significant drop over the past week.

"We just want everyone to have a sense of self-care as according to the advice from the Ministry of Public Health and do our part to be responsible as a part of Thailand along with the government," said Chawalitmontien.

"We're happy that we were able to initiate this so that other companies and organizations have also started to think and act along the same lines. Government organizations and others have reached out to request production of no less than 10,000,000 masks right now with more requests coming in each day."

"BSAT is just doing it's part to sacrifice, assist, and be in harmony with everyone to show that the basketball community can mean more than just a 'sport' similar to how FIBA also uses basketball as a medium to reach out and assist those in need around the world."

FIBA