Joshua Morgan, Grade 11
UWC Thailand
As we all know, COVID-19 has been very disruptive on a global level over the past few months. However, it has been heartwarming to see communities coming together, from the UWC communities in which we reside, to the international communities online. From UWC Thailand, where I’m a first-year student, to my hometown in Wales to international communities all around the world, people continue to show immense levels of support and hope. It’s during these tough times when community spirit is most important.
At UWCT, we have been in lockdown for around seven weeks now. Some boarding students have left for home, while some of us have decided to remain here in the community, unable to return home. Like much of the UWC population around the world currently, we attend school online. In our free time, we try to enjoy as much as we can, while remaining productive, within our campus grounds, whether it’s by playing football, going for a jog, or reading a book.
In this UWCT community, we have had so many significant events within our ‘bubble’. Over the past couple of months, we have organised a variety of activities such as pizza-making activities, slightly competitive dodgeball tournaments, and a 10KM fun run in aid of the local communities. Being IB students, obviously, we made sure to redeem CAS hours for these activities too. This lockdown has given us the opportunity to recuperate as a community - with more interactions, exercise and productivity but less junk food - a golden opportunity for any IB student!
If you have been online, you’ll have seen the recent shift of events and resources that have become virtualised. One example is the VE day celebrations that took place today, which were broadcast through the BBC or the Anzac Day service, which was also held online. These have been rare opportunities for us as UWC students, who may usually miss our home celebrations due to being in a UWC in a different location, but these virtual events have enabled our involvement too. Furthermore, online activity has seen a significant increase in the use of educational websites, like Khan Academy, or games online, such as chess, which is encouraging to see. Again, this lockdown has given everyone an opportunity to learn something new (perhaps Latin, chess, or the piano), relax with some Netflix, and be more aware of themselves. Even my father has learned how to take a screenshot on his phone - quite an achievement!
Before coming to UWCT, I came from a small rural town in the valleys of Wales, in the United Kingdom. Personally, it has been very reassuring, seeing through my online contacts, how inspirational the community back home has been. Let me explain the situation my family is in back home at the moment: my sister has Cystic Fibrosis (a severe chronic illness, which impacts the lungs and digestive system) putting her in the ‘at-risk’ group; thus she must remain in strict isolation in the house with my mum. My father works for the National Health Service, but can’t work and live at home, due to my sister needing isolation, therefore, he has taken the brave decision to move out for the foreseeable future. Although this is a very tough situation, the community has provided immense amounts of support to my dad, and others in similar situations to him, for instance: the local ‘Bed & Breakfast’ has given him a free room to live in until the isolation period ends. The local ‘chippy’ (British chip shop) gives him free meals on a weekly basis. Neighbours and friends cook meals for him frequently, and he has also been donated many food items, entertainment devices and such, to support him while he stays in the one-bedroom accommodation. These may seem like small steps, but it really is touching to see people like my father, taking the noble decisions to move out of their homes for the greater cause of supporting the health service, and the community in supporting these ‘heroes’.
I always try to maintain a positive, optimistic mindset. Through the pandemic, I think back to my counterparts those decades ago, who had to evacuate their homes from their parents, during the tragic Second World War. I’m stuck in a boarding house with my friends in Thailand; not on a farm with others whom I’ve never met. I have no doubts that I’ll return home within the next year; I won’t be enlisted against my will and be sent to the ‘frontline’, and I’m confident my hometown will remain, as well as my family members alive and well, from war-caused harm. We must remain hopeful. Whilst this pandemic is undoubtedly the toughest situation many of us have ever had to go through, we will definitely take some valuable lessons away from it, including the increased sense of community engagement and support.
At UWCT, we have been in lockdown for around seven weeks now. Some boarding students have left for home, while some of us have decided to remain here in the community, unable to return home. Like much of the UWC population around the world currently, we attend school online. In our free time, we try to enjoy as much as we can, while remaining productive, within our campus grounds, whether it’s by playing football, going for a jog, or reading a book.
In this UWCT community, we have had so many significant events within our ‘bubble’. Over the past couple of months, we have organised a variety of activities such as pizza-making activities, slightly competitive dodgeball tournaments, and a 10KM fun run in aid of the local communities. Being IB students, obviously, we made sure to redeem CAS hours for these activities too. This lockdown has given us the opportunity to recuperate as a community - with more interactions, exercise and productivity but less junk food - a golden opportunity for any IB student!
If you have been online, you’ll have seen the recent shift of events and resources that have become virtualised. One example is the VE day celebrations that took place today, which were broadcast through the BBC or the Anzac Day service, which was also held online. These have been rare opportunities for us as UWC students, who may usually miss our home celebrations due to being in a UWC in a different location, but these virtual events have enabled our involvement too. Furthermore, online activity has seen a significant increase in the use of educational websites, like Khan Academy, or games online, such as chess, which is encouraging to see. Again, this lockdown has given everyone an opportunity to learn something new (perhaps Latin, chess, or the piano), relax with some Netflix, and be more aware of themselves. Even my father has learned how to take a screenshot on his phone - quite an achievement!
Before coming to UWCT, I came from a small rural town in the valleys of Wales, in the United Kingdom. Personally, it has been very reassuring, seeing through my online contacts, how inspirational the community back home has been. Let me explain the situation my family is in back home at the moment: my sister has Cystic Fibrosis (a severe chronic illness, which impacts the lungs and digestive system) putting her in the ‘at-risk’ group; thus she must remain in strict isolation in the house with my mum. My father works for the National Health Service, but can’t work and live at home, due to my sister needing isolation, therefore, he has taken the brave decision to move out for the foreseeable future. Although this is a very tough situation, the community has provided immense amounts of support to my dad, and others in similar situations to him, for instance: the local ‘Bed & Breakfast’ has given him a free room to live in until the isolation period ends. The local ‘chippy’ (British chip shop) gives him free meals on a weekly basis. Neighbours and friends cook meals for him frequently, and he has also been donated many food items, entertainment devices and such, to support him while he stays in the one-bedroom accommodation. These may seem like small steps, but it really is touching to see people like my father, taking the noble decisions to move out of their homes for the greater cause of supporting the health service, and the community in supporting these ‘heroes’.
I always try to maintain a positive, optimistic mindset. Through the pandemic, I think back to my counterparts those decades ago, who had to evacuate their homes from their parents, during the tragic Second World War. I’m stuck in a boarding house with my friends in Thailand; not on a farm with others whom I’ve never met. I have no doubts that I’ll return home within the next year; I won’t be enlisted against my will and be sent to the ‘frontline’, and I’m confident my hometown will remain, as well as my family members alive and well, from war-caused harm. We must remain hopeful. Whilst this pandemic is undoubtedly the toughest situation many of us have ever had to go through, we will definitely take some valuable lessons away from it, including the increased sense of community engagement and support.
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