New global first website shares Derry & Strabane children’s Lockdown Stories

Featuring more than 1,000 handwritten stories by children, the project has evolved out of Young Minds Matter, an initiaitive by local business Foyle Kumon Centre which provided activities for children to improve their physical, mental and emotional health last year. At the weekend the new website will be opened up to include the experiences of people of all ages and from anywhere in the world. The web address will be confirmed over the coming days.

The organisers said the direct impact of Covid-19 on children seems to be less severe than on adults, but indirect and hidden consequences will have a lasting effect on their mental health, compounded by the lack of social engagement, the closing down of sports and social activities and the impact on their learning and education opportunities.

This year the project opened for schools in September with the ‘Tell me your Lockdown Story’ competition for children aged 7 and above, across the Derry and Strabane area. The aim was for children to pen down their 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, Foyle Kumon Centre, commented: “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 first hand witnessed 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.

“The overall feedback from Young Minds Matter project has exceeded expectations. It’s now important that we try and gather as many stories as we can as it will form a major part of history for our future generations.”

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

“So far,” said Sumeeta, “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. It’s the only website in the world with this unique concept and archive.

“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.”

Patricia Greene, co-founder of the Web Crew has been supporting the project by working with Foyle Kumon in developing this website,

“The Web Crew are delighted to support the Young Minds Matter project to get our local school children’s ‘Lockdown Stories’ online. Helping to create a platform where children’s stories from the lockdown can be shared has been a privilege. We look forward to providing ongoing support to Sumeeta and the project as it develops and grows.”

The Young Minds Matter project is self-funded through the Foyle Kumon Centre. If your school or child are interested in signing up, please contact [email protected] or call 07886337431. Kumon study aims to ensure that every child develops a love for learning by offering Maths and English programmes to help students of any age and ability to progress their skills and build key foundations for learning. Traditional Maths and English tuition help students progress, but Kumon goes one step further by helping each child develop self-learning skills, enabling them to tackle challenging work without reliance on a teacher. For more see: www.kumon.co.uk/foyle