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Belfast Live
Belfast Live
National
Shaun Keenan

New website shares Derry children's stories of living through lockdown

Children from Derry have shared their stories of living through lockdown through a new website set to launch this week.

The website, which was organised by the Kumon Foyle Study Centre, will go live at the Guildhall on February 13.

The initiative was launched last year to give young people the chance to jot down the feelings and emotions they experienced during the lockdown.

The response was overwhelming with eight schools participating and with 682 entries.

The competition had seven categories and was judged by two independent judges. All winners were awarded certificates and vouchers some of which were sponsored by local businesses.

Sumeeta Gupta, owner of Foyle Kumon Centre, said it was hoped the project would form a major part of history for future generations.

She told MyDerry : "Anecdotally, we know that many children struggled with the demands of home learning and with loneliness after weeks of social isolation.

"Many peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed studies have reported fluctuating mental health and suicide risk during the pandemic, but few focused on children and young people under the age of 18.

"As an educator, my focus has always been my students and their well-being.

"While I witnessed first hand the effect of the pandemic on our children, I felt it was important to highlight their feelings, needs and the problems faced by this cohort during the lockdown."

"All these stories will be uploaded on a website which will be launched by the Mayor, Derry and Strabane District Council at the Guildhall on Sunday 13 February."

Sumeeta added: "So far, I have a unique collection of more than 1,000 handwritten stories by children but I’m sure with more schools participating we will reach the 10,000 mark very soon.

"This website once launched will be open to people of all ages and from any part of the globe to upload their story.

"I strongly urge people to share their story on the website, which we believe, may inspire others to look at many other ways of coping with the situation.”

If your school or child are interested in signing up, please contact foyle@kumoncentre.co.uk or call 07886337431.

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