Tsuktiben Jamir
The COVID-19 pandemic was an unprecedented and terrifying event that shook the whole world. We scurried into our homes and resorted to whatever we could find to keep ourselves entertained within the confines of the four walls of our homes. Likewise, in a recent online gallery that has been making the rounds on the internet, we witness the ordeal through the perspectives of thousands of children across Canada where they shared stories of entertainment and frustration during the COVID-19 pandemic through a series of writings, drawings, poetry, and videos.
Courtesy: Lost and Found.
An online exhibition called ‘Lost & Found: A Digital Exhibit of Kids’ Pandemic Stories’ debuted in March of this year and includes poems, videos, drawings, and writing from children all throughout the country. The gallery came into existence under the Canadian Children’s Literacy Foundation, and it now displays more than 1,400 pieces of stories. Each one has been divided into one of five categories: emotions, health, technology, nature, and quality time.
It is intended to serve as a time capsule so that future generations may look back and comprehend what children experienced.
“I was really sad as I missed school, friends, travelling. We had to wear masks everyday. We also had to do online classes everyday wich (which) was tough. That time we where having a hard time cause our family members were falling sick so much,” wrote ten-year-old Jessika Sharma.
Courtesy: Lost and Found.
Along with an entourage of videos and drawings that the children shared, chronicling their experiences, there were also image stories that the children made to narrate their daily lives during the pandemic.
Chris Hadfield, Canadian Children’s Literacy Foundation board member said in a press release, “Storytelling is necessary for developing literacy skills and is a way to build connections between people, teach the value of listening, and to remind ourselves that everyone’s story matters.”
Ten-year-old Sage wrote, “Sanitizer really hurt my hands.” While twelve-year-old Hannah shared a short poem portraying her frustration titled ‘Bored’: “So very bored because / I have done it all,/ Read all the books,/ Big and Small./ Built all the Legos,/ Apart and Together,/ Faught with Brother,/ Harder to be with one another./ Watched all the Netflix,/ And Disney, too./ It is harder and harder/ To find something to do.”
Children also wrote about how they missed going out and visiting their loved ones. However, it wasn’t all bad; six-year-old Eleanor wrote, “My Uncle Phil lived upstairs and made us pizza every week.”
The free Lost & Found workshops, which are being run in partnership with mental health and child-serving organisations, featured the stories and artworks of about 5,000 children up to the age of 12, in the online exhibit. Teachers and parents can still submit their children’s works to be featured on the website.
Courtesy: Lost and Found.
It is very amusing and heart-warming to hear the personal experiences and stories of these children but it also reminds us of a time that was plagued with uncertainty, fear and death. However, it also makes us realise the beauty in our human ability to share stories even during the darkest of times as a means of comforting each other. Stories that one day we’ll look back on and realise how far we have come.
Go check out the wonderful stories of these children at: https://www.lostandfoundstories.ca/browse/
