How did we survive the year 2020? Are we ready to face 2021? A reflection on the pandemic year, and how we have overcome it.

The Year 2020 has been challenging as we all know, but here we are in 2021! Happy New Year Every one. 

The year started well, resolutions were made, plans put into motion, but Covid19 hit and everything crumbled. Weddings got cancelled, travel plans and physical meetings were cancelled, school and places of worship closed, we were moving into the unknown. Reminds me of Mexican saying I heard from a friend, that if you want to make God laugh at you, tell him your plans. 

The different faces of the pandemic

The pandemic was not just a health issue, it had social, economic challenges that have been un precedented. It exposed inequalities, the flawed humanity where husbands and wives could not live together for long hours due to lock down and resorted to violence (wonder why we stay together in the first place if we cant tolerate each other). People with low incomes, living hand to mouth suffered hunger and psychological trauma. I read about a man who set himself on fire because he couldn't feed his family, another who killed his family of four because he could not take care of them, communities hit by climate hazards and displaced amidst the already constrained situation.

I remember when the first deaths in Italy were being announced on television, I used to sit on TV during lunch time to catch up with the news, I would break down and cry for the unknown people. My daughter onetime asked why I was crying and yet I didn't know them, I told her that to someone else, they were grandfathers, grand mothers, mothers, fathers, sisters, children, friends. She understood, but commented that I will be crying for along time because the news will go on and on. Which indeed turned out to be true -- it spread world over, the numbers went up daily.

We also experienced personal loss and grief. Friends and colleagues got sick, and mind you before the pandemic, there were other diseases and other causes of death that also continued. I lost a cousin to cancer because his medicines could not reach him due to cancellation of flights. I lost a dear uncle whose cancer was diagnosed late at stage four. We lost a grandmother who had been part of my children's lives. We never got the opportunity to have a proper closure for our loved ones other than long distance communication with family.

The above is in addition to the challenges of new ways of working, online learning, endless meetings and webinars,. and cancelling our 2020 Christmas holiday which as a family we were all looking forward to, but the recent guidelines and lock down in the UK meant the hospitality industry had to close, so our trip went up in smoke!

So how did we cope? or more specifically how did I cope?

To cope with the above and continue functioning was no mean fit, there were support systems that enabled us go through such horrors. I know everyone had different coping strategies but some how if you are reading this, you pulled through, so they worked. For my part the following were key;

1. Family and friends

The value of family and friendship has never been important like in 2020. Being able to to share, laugh, hear a kind word, reflect on memories, share similar experiences was very helpful. For my part, being away from the larger extended family was hard, but friends and colleagues from work filled in gaps. Telling you to take it slow, take a day off to deal with personal issues really helped. Play dates for children also helped when they couldn't go to school and were craving company. It was a concerted effort through a circle of family and friends.

2. Work Environment 

The work place also had a lot to do with individual coping. At IIED, reflection on Covid19 impacts on staff was key both at leadership, group, team and individual level. Support  to ensure we all had basic working equipment at home, one to one informal chats, team discussions on personal experiences and coping mechanisms, mental health sessions, encouraging us to take off days of leave etc all contributed to our resilience to face another day. As an institution we also worked with our partners to understand how they were coping and innovating to deal with the pandemic challenges. However, this process made me realise how privileged we are to have stable internet, or even affording it. Some of our partners were struggling with band width, connection, access, affordability etc. While the world prided itself on being able to move on virtually and reduce emissions from travel, many organisations and individuals in the global south cannot say the same due to the digital divide. overall, we managed, but we need to continue advocating and supporting those not privileged to work virtually.

3. Spiritual Support

Human needs for spirituality and connection have always existed, but they were more important in 2020.

In an article on spiritual wellness during Covid19 pandemic, the spiritual leaders agree that focusing on the positive helps to navigate the pandemic’s challenges. “When you turn off the news, take time to disconnect from the world, and focus on your life, you’ll see that there is actually a lot of good,” This isn’t intended to minimize or ignore all the pain and harm but to serve as a reminder that there is still more than only pain and harm. “Maybe you’ve had more time at home to see your kids, or can even just appreciate the simple fact that you are breathing and alive,” 

Personally I was able to reconnect with my church back home on zoom since churches here were closed and it is a space where sharing about Covid19 was open, with prayers for the sick, comfort for those that lost loved ones, charitable acts for those suffering. That gave me meaning, being part of that community and participating in doing good for others who needed it.

The worst is not over, but we have leaned our lessons. I hope we shall be wiser, more resilient, kinder to others and to ourselves.

Happy New Year 2021 - I hope it will end better than 2020 - All is well that ends well!

Comment and share your coping strategies that could make 2021 better