By Amna Hassan | Project Manager
This report outlines project activities which took place during and after the easing of lockdown in the Covid-19 global pandemic. We have had to be adaptable and flexible in our project delivery through innovation and experimentation to ensure children continue to gain considerable social and educational benefits despite closed schools and resulting loss of learning.
Our mobile library was not visiting communities during lockdown when the virus was at its height, to ensure the safety of beneficiaries and project staff. We continued the distribution of IBBY book box libraries during this period all over Pakistan, most specifically the effected communities where our Rickshaw mobile library was visiting earlier. We have distributed books within the communities asking the children to keep them and exchange them with friends within the community after cleaning them. This continues to be highly functional due to large book donations from Hoopoe Books and Big Bad Boo. We remain deeply grateful to both organizations.
Once after easing of the lockdown we started visiting the communities following the standard operating procedures and safety measures. We have also initiated the hand washing awareness campaign in the communities by discussing the importance of it especially during the pandemic. Along with it, we emphasized on awareness campaigns with children for tips on fighting the virus.
We are continuing to grow our literature to reflect the changes in society and help children make sense of the new normal. A book focusing on nature and its beauty is in the pipeline as one way to help children cope and stay positive. We have also designed child friendly posters to help convey health messages on sanitation and hand washing. These were distributed around Lahore and in other cities.
Our COVID mantra in the communities:
Wash your hands
Cover your face
Keep a distance
After lifting of the smart lockdown, we are able to resume our community visits five days a week following the precautions and the children are very excited to have their very own Library wala back in the “mohallas”.
*Mohalla=Community
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