Kentucky Youths Cope With Pandemic Stress By Encouraging Others

Paducah KY

27 October, 2021

10:12 PM

Description

Nine-year-old Rumbi Dauda has her mother’s phone in hand, but she is not using it to watch a video or play a game. She is calling a Bowling Green neighbor to share a hopeful Bible message and scripture. The Briarwood Elementary student, whose family regularly shares in a Bible education work as Jehovah’s Witnesses, finds that encouraging others has helped her deal with pandemic stress. “It makes me happy,” says Rumbi, “and I like to teach other people.” Educators across the country recognize the danger the pandemic poses for children’s mental health. In Warren County, schools have seen “more anxiety, stress and depression” among students since the onset of COVID-19, says Lighthouse Academy Guidance Counselor Krista Hunt. Reaching out to others has been a lifeline during the past 18 months of intermittent lockdowns for young people like Vanessa, Amela and Mila Muratovic who are 10, 11 and 14 years old respectively. “It was hard for me when I couldn’t play with my friends. I missed that,” says ten-year-old Vanessa. She and her sister Amela reached out to friends and teachers at their school, W.R. McNeill Elementary. Amela called her teacher to share with her the thought at Psalms 65:2 that God does answer prayers. “She said that made her day,” says Amela with a smile. Older sister Mila participates in writing letters to the Serbo-Croatian communities in Bowling Green, Lexington, Louisville and surrounding areas along with her parents. Why does she make the effort? “It’s hard for people [with so much] going on,” she says. “Whenever we write letters it gives them happiness and peace.” Olivia McCaskill, a member of the Bowling Green South English congregation, has volunteered her time to distribute food boxes to Warren County families during the pandemic. The 20 year old is studying HVAC at Southcentral Kentucky Community and Technical College and works part-time as a janitor to support herself. “It feels good knowing I’m helping people get through this pandemic,” says Olivia, “I want to donate my time so that I can give something I have and other people need.” 16-year-old Akili Bilombele attends the same Swahili Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses as Rumbi’s family and is also a student at Warren East High School. Born in Tanzania, he spent the first years of his life in refugee camps. Conditions were difficult, he says: “There wasn’t that much food.” Now as he sees his neighbors going through hard times, he tries to comfort them. When he calls to share a Bible thought, says Akili, “I like to read James 1:13 because it explains that God is not the cause of our suffering.” Akili and young people like him have learned the benefits of helping others during the pandemic. As Guidance Counselor Krista Hunt observes, “Helping can give children a sense of purpose during uncertain times. Being a part of the community helps children feel connected in a time when they have been isolated.”