If your kid is feeling worried, finding it difficult to cope with anxiety brought in by COVID-19 pandemic, then he/she needs to read this book: ‘Kovi's Promise’
Penned by Dr Sujata Sharma, senior doctor from the All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS), Delhi, the book draws on the daily realities of several children since the beginning of the pandemic and attempts to provide the kids to become more resilient, both now and when the COVID crisis is over.
The 'Kovi’s Promise' was released by AIIMS Director Dr Randeep Guleria at an event in the national capital last week. Appreciating the effort of the professor at the Department of Biophysics who occasionally dons the writer’s hat as her passion, Dr Guleria said “The book itself is very useful not only for children but even for laypersons because it explains, in a very simplified manner what COVID is all about.
“It also inter mingles the various aspects of the pandemic and what a child goes through, because of education and peer pressure amidst a family when a child’s siblings are doing better than him/her academically,” Dr Guleria added.
The book aims to help children stay hopeful and positive even as COVID-19 unfolds into Omicron and Delta and shows how a child evolves and develops an interest in science and academics, as was also pointed out by Dr Guleria.
The present book talks about a naughty six-year-old boy Bholu who survived the upside down life brought by the pandemic which had struck the world early 2020. Instead of normal, physical school, Bholu had to learn to adjust to attending online classes, play all by himself as he could not meet his friends. Staying away from his school and his friends, Bholu became miserable and lonely. Then one night, in his garden, he met Kovi, a baby coronavirus. From that moment, an unexpected friendship began. Playing together and talking about the pandemic and science, they found an enchanted purpose. Finally, Kovi made Bholu promise something and the result was that, that little boy grew up as a scientist Dr Pratham who happened to bag an award in 2055 for discovering a new coronavirus.
The storybook which is currently available in English and as ‘Tumhara Bholu’ in Hindi can be used by parents and teachers as well as kids shedding light on how to create the right conditions for impressionable minds to openly share their feelings and worries related to the pandemic.
“The book addresses the fears and concerns children are facing in the current phase of the pandemic, and explores the various coping mechanisms that they can use when faced with emotions like fear, grief and anger,” said Dr Sujata, shedding some light on the book.
As COVID enters into its third year, the impact on children and young people’s mental health and well-being continues to weigh heavily. According to the UNICEF, disruption to routines, education, recreation, as well as concern for family income and health, is leaving many young people feeling afraid, angry, and concerned for their future. It says that globally, at least 1 in 7 children has been directly affected by lockdowns, while more than 1.6 billion children have suffered some loss of education.
Kovi’s Promise promises to bring hope in such gloomy scenario, says Dr Sujata, who has three other science fiction autobiographical books also, “Warriors in White”, “The Secret of the Red Crystals” and “A Dragonfly’s Purpose” to her credit.
Dr Sujata has bagged a string of awards like the ‘Kalpana Chawla Excellence Award’, the ‘Peaklife Woman Inspire Award’ and the ‘TWAS Award for Public Understanding and Popularization of Science’ for her various achievements, to name a few.
