A unique website - the first of its kind in the world - providing a glimpse into local children’s experiences of the COVID pandemic and lockdown will be unveiled via a new website launching this Sunday.
Featuring more than 1,000 handwritten stories by children, the project has evolved out of Young Minds Matter, an initiaitive by local business Foyle Kumon Centre which provided activities for children to improve their physical, mental and emotional health last year. At the weekend the new website will be opened up to include the experiences of people of all ages and from anywhere in the world.
The organisers said the direct impact of Covid-19 on children seems to be less severe than on adults, but indirect and hidden consequences will have a lasting effect on their mental health, compounded by the lack of social engagement, the closing down of sports and social activities and the impact on their learning and education opportunities.
This year the project opened for schools in September with the ‘Tell me your Lockdown Story’ competition for children aged 7 and above, across the Derry and Strabane area. The aim was for children to pen down their feelings and emotions they experienced during the lockdown.