The individuals and their initiatives shaping the fight against Coronavirus
This week millions across the UK (and the world) cheered as 99-year old Captain Tom Moore (pictured above to the left) completed 100 laps of his Yorkshire garden. The mission of his walk was to raise money for the NHS staff and volunteers, to express his gratitude for the care they have provided him throughout his life and to support the work they are now doing to save the lives of COVID-19 patients.
Tom had initially set out to raise just £1,000 before his 100th birthday on April 30, but he quickly smashed through the target once his mission came to public attention and completed the 100 laps on April 16, earlier than planned. His fundraiser has now reached more than £26,000,000 (contribute on his JustGiving page here).
Tom’s simple and humble gesture started an avalanche of generous acts across the country. His initiative became a platform for others to fulfil their wish to help and to contribute.
But Tom is not alone in this. In the last weeks we’ve been struck by the many stories from across the world of individuals sharing their solutions to COVID-19, taking initiative and reaching out to offer their help - often using Social Media as their platform of connection.
DR Horisont, a news programme on the main Danish TV channel, is reporting on such stories.
In one episode, the Danish correspondent in Spain meets 22-year old Alba Callejas (pictured above in the middle), a nurse working in an ITU at one of the main hospitals in Madrid. During this pandemic, Alba gets to work early every day to read letters to COVID patients from their family members at home.
She initially expressed her wish to help in a Facebook post (pictured the left).
In English:
“Hi! I work in Hosital de La Princesa, if you have family here hopitalised with COVID-19 and would like to send them some support and encuragement, then send me a message and I will make sure your messaged is received. Let’s make their stay more enjoyable and let them know their loved ones are with them.”
The message was shared 5,600 times (see the post here) and since then Alba’s Facebook inbox has been filled with message from relatives to COVID patients.
In the programme (available to watch here, in Danish/Spanish, but unfortunately not with English subtitles) one family shared their gratitude to Alba for bringing a message to their husband and father.
But it is not only the families receiving benefit - the joy and elevated sense of purpose Alba receives from her actions was clearly expressed.
Another story - also covered in the Danish programme and by the Guardian here - is about the swift thinking, foresight and action of Faroese veterinary scientist Debes Christiansen (picture above to the right) and the trust put in his initiative by the Faroese government.
As early as January, Debes had the idea to adapt his salmon-testing lab - originally set up in 2001 because of an outbreak of salmon anaemia virus in the Faroese waters - to testing for COVID-19 among humans. The adaptation only required a few extra ingredients and has not involved “too much hocus pocus”, as he told the Guardian. His lab was quickly set up to produce 1,000 tests a day, if required and the research assistants were available, and a drive-in testing facility at the main hospital in the capital was set up by the government.
The north Atlantic islands currently has 0 people hopitalised and 0 deaths (numbers here) and a larger proportion of the population has been tested than anywhere in the world.
What are these three stories telling us about the solutions needed at this time?
Social Media and other kinds of online networking tools and platforms create a new way for individuals to find an audience and community for their caring acts. Also, they enable individual initiatives to connect with others easily, in order to find the tools needed to amplify their actions. We’ve been seeing this happen to a great extend and we have been blogging examples since the start of the lockdown (see here, and here, and here).
There is also something to be said for the joy we feel when able to help and benefit others. The pure joy and awe was radiating from Captain Tom Moore’s face when interviewed about his NSH foundraiser. Alba Callejas seems to have found great integrity in her actions. Both used their leisure or lockdown time in a way that is not only meaningful to others but also meaningful to themselves.
We’ve previously blogged about the positive implications volunteer activities can have on us and our mental health. A conversation about how we can protect and take charge of our own mental health feels increasingly more vital at this time.
The main thing that enabled Debes Christiansen production of COVID testing-kits to go ahead was the trust and support he received from his government. And it is not common for governments to place trust in their scientists, if so, we would have seen far greater action to combat climate change from governments across the globe.
Trust seems to be a common feature in all three stories. Madrid families trust Alba to deliver intimate letters and millions place their money (read trust) in the cause of Captain Tom.
Are we learning to trust each other more during this crises? As the stories reveal many beautiful and transformative things can come to fruition when we place trust in each other.
Returning to the story with which we began. It is powerful to consider the effect that the idea of one citizen - Captain Tom Moore - can have on the whole of our society. 1,271,819 people directly responded to the Captain’s call while many, many more were inspired and moved.
Each one of these celebrated solo actors, were drawing us into the relationship between them and the people they serve. In that sense, it wasn’t about themselves, it was about the We space they were highlighting. Their act was social, not personal. Very different, for example, from the invitation to ‘like’ a celebrity or a single person posing.
In that sense, we are all participating in the act that Captain Tom initiated, amplifying and extending the We space between all of us and the NHS. We can’t all compete to have the Tom effect, but we can decide where we are going to place our attention and our support.
Have you come across similar stories or is your initiative making a difference where you are? Please share in the comments below.