When COVID-19 was announced, our leaders told us that we would soon be going into a mandatory lockdown. Within a week of this announcement, everything had changed. Schools, businesses, and workplaces were shut down. Only essential services were open. But everyone who wasn’t deemed an essential worker had to stay home. No socializing with anyone that wasn’t in our immediate bubble and our borders were shut to the world. Only those who were citizens were able to get in.

For the most part, I felt very bored being at home all day and I lost motivation to be productive. My days consisted of watching news updates, checking social media, and eating food. I wasn’t really progressing, just waiting for the situation to change.

At this time my father passed away. This was a difficult time for my family. Due to the strict lockdown rules, no one besides our immediate family was allowed to attend his funeral. We had to adapt and so we used ZOOM as a way to include our loved ones.

This was a crazy time. But I am very grateful because of how we as a community/country handled this situation. Everyone rallied together. We all understood that each person needed to follow the rules. Our leaders would update us daily, and they regularly emphasized the message of kindness. And we were always thinking of those who were most vulnerable and how this could affect them. Neighbors would check on each other and many food parcels were delivered/donated.

Because people willingly followed the rules, we were able to minimize and eliminate COVID-19 within our community. We were one of the first places to be able to fully and safely reopen everything. Now we are pretty much back to normal.