HOUSTON – A Clear Lake couple has made it their mission to go beyond the numbers to show you the faces of COVID-19.
A retired NASA rocket scientist and his wife said they couldn’t sit around and not do anything, so they took action to pay tribute to those who died from the coronavirus.
Thousands of Americans are dying every day from the coronavirus -- it’s something we hear a lot.
“I think the normal human being can’t picture that,” Ruth Nasrullah said.
So, Ruth Nasrullah and her husband, Mohammad Nasrullah, set out to humanize the statistic by launching the website.
“I think the best way to bring those numbers to life is to see the faces of the victims,” Ruth Nasrullah said.
Their website went live on Jan. 4.
They already have 900 victims, their pictures and stories. Contributions come from volunteers who repost obituaries and from family members of victims.
“I know that people who have lost loved ones, they have stories to tell and they don’t always have the opportunity to tell them,” Ruth Nasrullah said.
The website allows victims’ families to see they’re not alone as they share their loved one’s story. The website also has pages for a message board, facts about the virus and much more.
Ruth said it’s been a rewarding, but bumpy ride. While collecting obituaries one of their volunteers lost a family member to the coronavirus.
“And I just burst into tears because it was just sort of like we are all sitting here watching these stories and then boom, here it is, right at home, somebody who is helping us with the website,” Ruth Nasrullah said.
Which reinforces what you see on their website’s home page, a scrolling list of the faces of COVID-19 victims that come from all walks of life.
Mohammad said his goal is to add a picture of every American who lost their battle against the virus.
“And we have not even scratched the surface,” Mohammad Nasrullah said.
The Nasrullahs said they are looking for volunteers to help them document lives lost to the deadly virus. Click here if you would like to volunteer.