Children become COVID heroes
7 year old Appu (name anonymised) belongs to a small village in the East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh. He loves playing with his friends and they all enjoy spending time together. When Terre des Hommes Netherlands came to Appu’s village with some colourful banners and posters, his curiosity was piqued.
“I wondered what they were for”, said Appu. “ Me and my friends went ahead and explored all the big banners and posters they put up in our surroundings”
They saw short, vibrant messages explaining the need to wear masks, maintain distance and not be scared of COVID vaccinations. What appealed to Appu most was a poster of Superman wearing a mask, holding a vaccination in his hand and fighting COVID-19 with it.
“I love Superman and I loved that poster. I saw it and I got to know that Superman is telling us to protect ourselves from COVID through vaccinations. COVID-19 is dangerous. I immediately ran and showed it to my parents and told them that they need to get vaccinated”, he said.
Throughout its work, Terre des Hommes Netherlands strives to empower children by encouraging child participation. Keeping this in mind, TdH NL designed child friendly posters so that children would get inspired and informed, further spreading awareness about COVID-19 vaccinations.
The rest of the children from Appu’s village also loved the Superman poster and made sure they told their parents that they need to get vaccinated!
“He was so excited to show us the poster and told us that we had to take the vaccines. I was very happy and surprised that my child is so enthusiastic about keeping me safe and healthy. Me and my wife got our vaccinations done soon after that”, said Appu’s father.
Now all of Appu’s fellow villagers above 18 are vaccinated, and the children have played a huge role in achieving this 100% vaccination rate!