A PARTNERSHIP between the Sustainable Seas Trust (SST), the United Nations Environment Programme, WESSA, Plastics SA and the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, was recently established to empower children to understand Covid-19, and to encourage them to share life-saving information with those around them.
Using comic books filled with colourful and engaging illustrations and content, children learn about Covid-19 health and safety protocol.
The impact of COVID-19 has profoundly disrupted life and changed how children experience the world. Adjusting to new measures, like mask wearing, social distancing, and sanitising hands may have been difficult for children, and indeed anxiety provoking. In order to make Covid-19 related information accessible, meaningful and less daunting for the younger generation, SST and partners took the initiative to develop a comic which aims to help children navigate this unprecedented pandemic in an age-appropriate way.
Furthermore, children, equipped with the correct information, may help empower other children to traverse this time.
The comic follows the story of two twin sisters, Elli and Ella, who are trying to educate their families and friends about Covid-19 health and safety protocols, and to provide credible news to others.
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“It is important that children know that they can be carriers of the virus and infect their parents and grandparents. While children are considered low risk in terms of Covid-19 complications, they are critical role-players in the dissemination of safety information. When children are enabled to participate in social and health issues of the day, they are able to make informed decisions and help others,” said Dr Anthony Ribbink, CEO of the Sustainable Seas Trust.
“What we really appreciate about the comics is the inclusion of information on the waste economy, and the special precautions we can take to treat waste at home and at school, and to protect waste workers,” said sustainability director of Plastics SA, Douw Steyn.
General manager of Education Centres of WESSA, Matthew Cocks, said: “Children are full citizens, and yet important health and environmental information is not often relayed to them. Our partnership aims to change that, especially around COVID-19. Furthermore, there is a lot of misinformation out there, and we want children to know the facts.”
Head of United Nations Environment Programme in South Africa, Cecilia Njenga said she loved how the main characters in the comics, Elli and Ella, are so relatable and will speak to South African children – in their unique contexts.
“Too often health and environmental information is not geared to the special circumstances of many children in low-to-middle income country settings,” she said.
The comics are available and downloadable online at https://sst.org.za/resources/covid-19-awareness-comic-strips/
Caxton Local Media Covid-19 reporting
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