Coronavirus: Woman creates educational videos in Dene to help La Loche amid outbreak

La Loche remains the epicentre of the biggest COVID-19 outbreak in Saskatchewan, but many in the region speak little or no English.

That makes it harder to follow public health advice.

Diane Janvier Dugan’s mother and sisters live in La Loche. She noticed it was harder to relay information to her family when she would talk to them about the virus.

So she decided to create videos entirely in Dene to help people in the community — and anyone who speaks the Indigenous language — know how to protect themselves.

“I know for sure my mom, the only way she would understand is if it was explained in Dene because she does not speak English and I thought ‘Okay, well, I can do this,’” Janvier said.

The videos explain how to make a face mask, how to make your own disinfectant wipes, and one explaining how the virus spreads in a community. She shares them on her YouTube channel Diane Makes.

They take Janvier Dugan hours to make.

“If it can stop one person from becoming sick and experiencing these terrible symptoms, I feel like I’ve helped,” she said.

“Everybody’s important, I’m important, you’re important, and if you are the one person I help them I feel like ‘OK, this is a good thing’ even though it took hours to do, I feel like it’s worth it because everybody is worth it.”

The videos are long, averaging around 15 to 20 minutes.

Part of the reason is the Dene language is more descriptive than English, she said, and it doesn’t have direct translations for words like “mask” and “COVID-19.”

Instead, Janvier Dugan calls masks “something to cover your face”, or refers to the virus as a bug.

While she says she’s “exhausted” from making these videos for now, she isn’t giving up helping people.

She is making face masks for the community of La Loche. Others have joined her donation, including Canada Sews, a group of volunteers across the country providing fabric masks and scrub caps to front line workers in need.

The group’s Saskatchewan chapter has donated 540 face masks to the community.

Questions about COVID-19? Here are some things you need to know:

Health officials caution against all international travel. Returning travellers are legally obligated to self-isolate for 14 days, beginning March 26, in case they develop symptoms and to prevent spreading the virus to others. Some provinces and territories have also implemented additional recommendations or enforcement measures to ensure those returning to the area self-isolate.

Symptoms can include fever, cough and difficulty breathing — very similar to a cold or flu. Some people can develop a more severe illness. People most at risk of this include older adults and people with severe chronic medical conditions like heart, lung or kidney disease. If you develop symptoms, contact public health authorities.

To prevent the virus from spreading, experts recommend frequent handwashing and coughing into your sleeve. They also recommend minimizing contact with others staying home as much as possible and maintaining a distance of two metres from other people if you go out.

For full COVID-19 coverage from Global News, click here.