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Munya Chimanye Features Writer
On September 24 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced the release of a new installment of their storybook, ‘My Hero is You: How Kids Can Fight COVID-19’, that aims to help young children adjust to living through the pandemic.
The first installment of the book was published in April 2020 and the second installment comes as lives the world over are still affected by the pandemic on a daily basis.
In an effort to aid children, mainly between the ages of 6 and 11, cope with the disruption to their education, socialization and recreation, the two storybook are the combined works of about 60 organizations including but limited to WHO, UNICEF, the United Nation Commissioner for Refugees, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent and the MHPSS Collaborative for Children and Families in Adversity.
UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore said, “Almost two years into the pandemic, millions of children are still seeing their lives and routines disrupted. The ‘My Hero is You’ series is an essential and wonderful tool for parents and teachers to help children understand today’s new world and cope with their changing emotions.”
According to the WHO, the storybooks are based on survey responses describing continued challenges within the pandemic from 5000 parents, caregivers, teachers and the students for whom they care.
The storybooks follow the main character, travelling fantasy creature Ario, who finds small happinesses in simple things throughout the world with the help of a variety of characters.
The writers use Ario to address sadness, loneliness, fear, grief and anger through his adventures, relating these feelings to their intended audience through illustration and didactic instruction and proposing coping mechanisms for children as well.
Through the guide released in February 2021, ‘Actions for Heroes’, parents and teachers learn how to use the storybook effectively to help children.
The first storybook is available in over 140 languages, where its successor is currently available in English, Swahili, French, Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.
As of April 2020, the UN had joined forces with governments, universities, NGOs, media outlets and celebrities in order to establish distribution of the first book and diversification through: audiobooks and workshops around the books in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh; an animated version for Mongolian television; and free access to the book as a supplement in a Greek national newspaper.
The second installment of the storybook comes at the same time as reports that the Pfizer/Biotech vaccine is safe to administer to children of the same age according to the discoveries in a US trial where it is more openly available.
Online Reporter