KEVICC Courier Winter 2021 Lockdown

Kennicott Lockdown Legends Many of our students played a key role in helping our community through the first lockdown, last spring and summer. Some of our year 12 students took on extra responsibilities and made exceptional personal contributions, whilst keeping on top of their studies. Here are some of their stories… Ben Daws What did you do during first lockdown? During the last lockdown I volunteered with the donations team at the Torbay hospital Horizon center. In this role I packed care packages for patients who were in hospital and who couldn't have any visitors. I also sorted scrubs and PPE that was donated by the local community. After this I returned to the main hospital, volunteering on the A&E ward chatting with patients who couldn't have visitors. What made you want to do it/ enabled you to do it? When I first heard that the country was going into lockdown, I was adamant to volunteer with the other thousands of people who volunteered at that time. My family wasn't too fond of the idea of me working inside the hospital due to the risk of coronavirus. I was already a volunteer inside the hospital but had to stop due to the pandemic. Being part of the volunteer services made it easier to find this new role Are there any really memorable moments that come to light? In A&E I met a lot of nice patients and staff. During my time there I met a lady who had lost some family members in the last year and her mental health was starting to deteriorate. This lady started to really open up to me and was very appreciative of me listening to her. Who did you meet? Any inspiring stories? During lockdown I was one of two volunteers who worked with the NHS donations team. everyone was quiet to begin with but the more we worked with each other the more I enjoyed it. Although I didn't know these people it was nice to see other humans during the lockdown. I also met a lot of people on the A&E ward. For example, I once met an ex- addict who wanted to become a counsellor. What have you taken from the experience? This experience has shown me that there are always people who are willing to volunteer and how many different people live within my local community. MollyCampbell My lockdown experience In the last lockdown, I mostly stayed inside due to my role as a young carer; caring for my sister, who has down syndrome. This role was particularly hard as it's a pretty hands-on job with making sure she's got something to do, either playing with blocks or watching TV, as well as comforting her when she is upset and helping her if she wants to go outside or pet our family guinea pig. For the first couple of months, we stayed inside and never went on walks. Needless to say I was extremely bored and needed something to do! So eventually I found some hobbies; I started exercising, started reading more and attempted to learn the guitar (that hobby didn't last long). Eventually, when the infection rates dropped, my family and I ventured outside, taking long walks with my grandparents’ dogs. It was freeing to be outside; it had been pretty isolating to be inside, even if I was surrounded by family, especially with my sister needing a lot of extra help. It felt like the government decisions didn't help much, especially in terms of support and communication as my family was used to having an extensive support system with schools and extra hands giving us a day off, so when that was all stripped away it felt that we were left to our own devices. During the lockdown, my mum also broke her wrist, so that was another layer of exhaustion. Suddenly, I was not only a young carer, I was also my mum’s right hand. It felt like I was juggling everything at once but somehow I got through it and my mum's wrist got better. I have to admit that the last part of lockdown is quite hazy in my memory. I remember feeling like the lockdown was never going to end, so it was a relief when I was finally able to see my friends again and eventually go back to school, even if it was for a short while. It definitely made my life easier as my sister was getting an outside stimulus which wasn't cbeebies and the support system was available to our family once again. Page 27