As an IB student is my duty to take leadership in my community in moments of crisis. For this reason, I will focus my best on taking into account the different communities I am part of, this being La Paz, Huacas and my local neighborhood. Given the fact that I am part of the group Youth Taking Action, I will focus on the same three branches in which the group focuses on that are the animal, environmental and social aspects of the community. My role as a student will allow me to reach bigger audiences like highschool fellows like me as well as adults. Especially now with the coronavirus health crisis that Costa Rica is going through, it is necessary for someone to take command.
To start, I will be talking about the impact that COVID-19 has had in my community and country. December of 2019 marks the date in which the virus started spreading in China that by January it had already become international. Like this, each country started getting new cases due to the interdependency of states we have in the 21st century making millions of people travel all over the world. In March Costa Rica had its first case of COVID-19 which was just the tip of the iceberg to come, causing mass paranoia between the population. The virus started spreading so quickly that a week after its first case, the government decided to cancel multiple academic institutions like universities and high schools. They recommended different ways in which people should greet each other as well as a suggestion to stay home as much as possible. This has disrupted my tourist-dependent community since the percentage of incoming tourists keeps lowering and lowering. I, as a student, am at a disadvantage since I will have to do online classes in order to keep up with the IB standards and due dates.
The coronavirus affects this project because all of its key elements involve engaging with animals or other humans. For example, in the environmental aspect, we can’t do any sort of clean up since that would be gathering people together making a high risk of infection like we were planning for the clean up in Huacas. In the animal aspect, we can’t do any sort of activities we have done in the past. Events such as a castration campaign aren’t a good idea either; especially given the fact that COVID-19 started in animals and spread to humans. There are also social engagements like going to the retirement home but that can’t be done either since elders are the demographic more at risk of being infected by the virus.
In like manner, as part of Youth Taking Action will make sure those around me are well informed. The way in which I can help my community in Huacas can be doing a WhatsApp group chat in order to be updated about the situation of the virus in our local community and make any sort of announcements that will benefit everyone. Announcements such as an obstruction in a certain road or the closing of a supermarket or bakery are the ones that would ideally be shared. As part of my caring and always-open-to-help personality, I will be sending links in spanish with credible sources about the virus and what preventive measures to take.
In essence, throughout this journal entry, I explored the different ways COVID-19 is affecting the community and country I live in. Likewise, I talked about my duty as an IB student that is to take the role of a leader and help those around me as much as I can, especially during times of mass hysteria. I will be helping my community by creating a group chat for my local neighborhood in which we will share important announcements such as credible information about the virus or the closing of any important places like supermarkets. As a minor, it is common to think that many things are out of your hands to handle. In many situations that statement is correct, however, that does not stop you from helping those around you as much as you can.
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