Making Sure Our Children are Okay
The school year for most students is over and many parts of the country have re-opened for business after strict Covid-19 closures. Children now have less school work to do and more time and possibility for outdoor activities. As a movement that takes action to be close to people most isolated because of poverty, we feel strong incentives to resume summer activities with children. But in order to do that, we need to ensure that we are doing it safely and in accordance with official guidelines.
“This isolation is killing me,” one parent told us. Another asked, “When are you coming back for the kids? They need you, you know.” Children need times for fun and learning this summer, more than ever, and times to interact with friends and others. We know that one role of Story Garden is to break down the isolation that many children face because of the hardships that poverty creates for their families. We also know that being close to families for whom life is so challenging is the right thing to do this summer. But is it safe and what is at risk?
ATD Fourth World team members are asking parents’ advice and starting to spend time in neighborhoods where Story Gardens happen to observe how people are adapting to being outside with others.
We are learning a few lessons along the way. The first is that no one knows exactly where the perfect balance is among the different aspects of a community's health and well-being during Covid-19.
The second lesson is that, for parents, their children’s safety and well-being always come first. Some parents know what it means to be in situations that are severely unsafe for their families - living in a car, moving from one place to another, walking home through violent areas. Such life experience carries within it a deep wisdom and sense of responsibility that we want to learn from.
What does it mean for these parents to care for their children’s well-being today? Is it healthy for their children to not have times to socialize, laugh, and learn? Are they worried that playing outside increases the risk of exposing others in the household to Covid-19? Is it in their best interest to take part in activities, in a setting that follows proven health precautions and with ATD Fourth World, where they hear, "the future is not only waiting for you, the future is you"? We do not know all the answers yet, but are committed to finding them with the help of families who have been impacted the most severely by this pandemic and persistent poverty.
To embark on this journey points out our individual and collective responsibility for today’s situation, but also for tomorrow’s: “I feel like my goal is to make sure that my kids are okay after all of this,’’ one mother told us. “When life brings you chaos, my children are my bright star.”
Wishing you all a safe and wonderful summer.
Guillaume Charvon
National Director
* This article is a part of our summer newsletter, "Following Children's Visions." Click here to read the full newsletter.