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Coronovirus: Share your story

No matter who I ask or where they live, people are sharing that life is very difficult now, as the world faces the new coronavirus disease, COVID-19. How is the virus affecting you? Have you found strategies to remain (or regain) peace? Please share your thoughts, hopes, and especially your strategies for staying peaceful in such a challenging time. Here's how.

 

1) Capture your experience, in words, photographs or video

We would love to hear about your personal experience in any or all of these areas:

  1. What is the biggest challenge for you?
  2. How are you keeping or regaining your peace as we face COVID-19?
  3. Have you discovered any unexpected blessings?
  4. How do you hope the world will change - forever - due to the coronavirus crisis?

 

Creative Tips

Writing Tips

If you are writing your experience, please make it more vivid by sharing your feelings. What sights, sounds, or smells describe your challenges or future hopes?

 

Photo Tips

Photographs are really powerful, and are great for social media. Be creative - try to make yours say a thousand words! Here are some suggestions:

  • Photograph you in front of your home (especially during self isolation).
  • Photograph the people you live with in front of the house or enjoying an activity.
  • Visualize your challenge creatively - can you show us as well as tell us?
  • You practicing your peace strategy.
  • Your unexpected blessing - can you show us, or hold up a sign telling us?
  • Your hope for the world - can you draw it, or hold up a sign with a message for the world?

 

Video Tips

With both sights and sounds, video is one of the richest communication mediums, and smartphones are enough to capture them. Here are some tips:

  • Plan it: What do you want to tell us? What words and images convey your message well (respecting stay at home orders)?
  • Be brief: Each question should take only one or two sentences, and each supporting scene should be 5-10 seconds. The whole video should be one or two minutes.
  • Do you want to say where you're from? We can add your city/country in the text, subtitles or hashtags if you don't mention it in the video.
  • If you're showing different scenes, press pause/start to start and stop them so you will end up with one complete video. Try to hold the camera steady as you touch it.
  • Sound: Take the video in a quiet place when it isn't windy. Stay close to the camera so it picks up your voice. If there's someone in your household who can help, they should be within a few feet of you. Don't ask outsiders to help to respect social distancing - safety first! If you have an external microphone, use it. Test it first, they don't all work with smartphone cameras.
  • Sights: If it's a selfie, the background should be uncluttered or distant (e.g., don't show a tree growing out of your head).
  • Steadiness: Brace your camera on the back of a hidden chair, against a tree, or brace your elbows against your body for images in front of you. If you have a tripod, use it.
  • Practicing is great, but don't sweat small mistakes.
  • Important: Please end your video with, "My name is _____, and I'm your brother/sister," to remind each other that we're all part of the one global family. You can use your first name, full name or nickname, as you prefer.

 

2) Add your personal details

Please add this information so we know who you are:

  1. Your name as you wish to share it publicly (your first name only, first and last name, or a nickname are all fine).
  2. Your full name for our private information (if you wish).
  3. Your city and country.

 

3) Submit your responses

Once you've captured your stories, please submit them to CryPeace in one of these ways. Please note that submitting them grants us permission to post them on our website or social media channels. We may edit your posts for clarity or brevity:

  1. Email covid at crypeace.org.
  2. Send them to our Whatsapp account, +1-249-490-4888.

 

Thank you very much! Please stay safe and sane during these difficult times.