11 Emerson Community from Afar

COVID 19 is a respiratory illness that originated in China and has since spread rapidly around the world. It has forced many countries to suspend public interactions, sports and in some cases travel. The regulations regarding the prevention of any further spread of the disease have required us to suspend our MUN project until further notice. Our MUN project consists of 4 committees that form a part of the actual UN where we simulate what a committee at the UN is like. We will be doing this project with the participation of 9th-12th grade from our school.

The virus has given us no choice but to suspend our MUN until further notice, making our position in the school community very important because teachers and students are expecting for this to happen. Due to the fact that me and my team are isolated from each other, communication has proven to be slightly difficult; meaning that we haven’t had the time to evaluate our resources and our situation right now and we still need more time to prepare plans for the future. As of now, my group has come up with the possibility of preparing resource packets for the people in MUN in order for the to familiarize themselves over the next few weeks. These resource packets would include key vocabulary, summaries of certain events as pertaining to the committee/issue and also we would include tips and tricks on how to write a position paper, working paper and resolution paper; along with how to distinguish yourself as best delegate. This will most likely be done in a week or so because we are working on preparing it if we decide to follow through with this plan of action.

Moving on from my project, the things I can provide for my community are minimal due to the fact that I am currently isolated due to recommendations from the government and also because my immediate community is sort of isolated from the rest of the population, not much is able to be done. However, I can stay informed by means of social media and also by not leaving the house I am eliminating the possibility of catching coronavirus and potentially being a transmitter to a person to whom it could prove fatal. I am also not that susceptible to mass hysteria meaning I can keep a clear mind and rationally comprehend/plan what I need to do in order to help the situation instead of making it worse.

My personality is that I work well in situations like these, and this can be reflected in my past. I have always been a strong believer in being prepared or in other words “prepping”; at my house I have a survival pack (complete with emergency rations, knives/hatchets/multitools, rope, emergency blankets, and a fire starting kit) and an extremely equipped general first aid kit (medications, bandages, gauze, scissors, gloves, surgical masks, syringes and bandaids). I have also completed a 3 day survival course in California with a top instructor and got certified in wilderness first aid. In times like these where mass hysteria is common and people are in need of basic supplies, it is often forgotten that being prepared is an underrated and often laughed at skill, however it does pay off to be safe than sorry.

In conclusion, due to the importance of our project, we need to work on a plan to help our project succeed and provide people with the resources needed. On my part, what I can do for my community right now is stay at my home in isolation to further prevent the spread of this virus, and if need be, use my personality for good and help my community out with the problem at hand.