Dearest Friends,



       The COVID-19 pandemic hit my home country on the 27th of February, ever since then, it's been rising. Who would have thought that we would all be in our homes for over a month, who would have thought our survival would depend on us staying away from social gatherings, for some, friends and families, for some, their partner, it is overwhelming. For most people like me, staying at home isn't a problem, its the constant news on tv, the rising death tolls, the constant talks from African parents that the world is coming to an end, is the trumpet going to blow anytime soon? it gets tiring as the day goes by and I know you can relate to that too if you live with your parents.

          Sometimes I go to sleep at night wondering what it feels like to be infected by the virus.
On this beautiful day, I woke up listening to the pigeons my dad feeds every morning, the sound of their beak against the hard roof of the shops downstairs where I live. I scrolled through my twitter feed only to find out one of my social media mentors is a COVID-19 survivor, read her full story here. It was shocking at first, I thought to myself, can anything good happen to this lady for once?. Reading her story gave me insight to what it felt like to be infected by the virus, it answered some of my answers but I was curious as to how other people were surviving, the poor, the less privileged, the ones whose survival depends on the daily hustle.  My mind wandered to the handicapped man that sweeps the bridge at Oshodi, I remembered the beggar at Yaba, the fruit seller I patronise on my way to work. How will they live?





          Many celebrities started out by giving money on social media, some NGOs distributed relief packages, the government said they distributed relief packages. I encountered the frustrations of Nigerians when I decided to volunteer to conduct the house to house search in Lagos state, my best friends were furious, questions like; is this the kind of volunteer job you want to do? do you want to die? arent you scared of contracting the virus? I knew all of these and I honestly was scared  but I just wanted to do it. Moving from house to house in the area where I lived, I never believed people lived in really bad environments, environments that could aid the spread of any disease or virus. I almost got lynched by some people who thought I was a government official, I listened to old people tell me how they've been living, I saw young children looking at me being able to walk the streets of Lagos oblivious to what my mission was and jealous I could move around. At some point I cried at the condition I met people, I cried at the level of poverty in my country, the gap between the rich and the poor, I prayed for better days, prayed for better and conscious leaders but all these cannot alleviate their sufferings.

Another thing I recognized is how fast fake news spread in the communities, people asked me questions like, is this really true? Are our leaders just trying to use this to steal public funds? Have you seen any dead person? Have you met anyone that contracted the virus?  All these questions and I had no answers to give. I think of ways we could contain the spread of the virus and also allow people to go by their daily activities, an article from stears business sheds more light on that here. the article explores two solutions and how each of them can help with the containment of the virus.  Share your thoughts with me on what you think

The death toll increases globally, we are in constant fear and I can't help but be afraid for those with a mental health history, are they alone right now? how are they coping with all the information on the news and on social media? how do they feel about everything going on? do we have to fight to keep their own sanity?. My two cents—avoid social media, listen to music—this helps me a lot, read books, visit only trusted news websites even if you want to be updated about the happenings around the world, learn a new skill, pick up a new indoor hobby, call your friends and families, mend that broken relationship, donate to a cause, help feed the needy. At the end of the day, just do whatever makes you feel better. For me, I listen to podcast shows, they help me a lot, I am halfway through my reading goals for the year and I hang out with my siblings and talk to my friends. This period has given me more time to think about life in general and the only thing I can say is LIVE.

Is there anything you've been doing that has helped you? Share with me, I just might be adding that to my list of things.
Remember; we can only stand together by not standing together. practice all preventive measures, stay safe. This too will pass.