- Many have realized that “they are not the degrees they hold” and have taken up “odd jobs” which are earning them many folds
- Closure of borders means very few can travel abroad for medical attention. Political leadership is realizing the importance of investing in local hospitals
By Mical Imbukwa
The Spanish flu of 1918 was by far the most devastating influenza pandemic in recorded history. Just like Covid 19, it reminded the world just how large the impact of a pandemic can be, even in countries that had already been successful in improving population health. A new pathogen can cause terrible devastation and lead to the death of millions. For this reason, the Spanish flu has been cited as a warning and as a motivation to prepare well for large epidemic outbreaks.
Even with numerous negative implications that resulted from the Spanish flu, positives were registered. It gave a big boost to the concept of socialized medicine and healthcare, which no country had really got around to organizing yet. The pandemic is what gave the stimulus to do that because there was a realization that a virulent disease was a global health crisis you had to treat at the population level. You could not treat individuals, and there was no point in blaming individuals for catching an illness or treating them in isolation.
March 11 2020, Covid 19 was declared by World Health Organization (WHO) as a pandemic. Unlike the Spanish Flu, which was brutal on middle aged people, Covid 19 is brutal on the older generation. Even though it is not selective on who it infects, the poor population is more at risk because they are the ones with the least access to good healthcare, the ones who work the longest hours and, in many cases, live in the most crowded accommodation. However, every cloud has a silver lining. So, what light exists in Covid 19?
- Faith In Infinite Power
Covid 19 has placed emphasis on the fact that there is a higher power with the final say. We may make plans, but it is God who orders our steps. We therefore need to acknowledge His presence always. Many had big plans for the years to come but God switched off their bulb before their own projected time on earth. Due to the Covid 19 containment measures, places of worship were closed, permitting only a limited number of people to access them. This enhanced spiritual growth, through the realization by many, that God can be found everywhere – that your sanctuary is the place where you meet God every day and that is everywhere. Clearly, spiritual growth is “an inside job.”
2. Equality
Even though Covid 19 has brought to light the deep-rooted inequalities in our societies, it has placed all of us in a corner of fear over the same thing. The pandemic triggered several levelers. Closure of borders means very few can travel abroad for medical attention. Political leadership is realizing the importance of investing in local hospitals.
3. Mindset Change
Not so long ago, employers believed that for employees to deliver, they have to be in the office. That has since changed with Covid 19. People are working from home and delivering just fine. I am not blind to the fact that due to the containment measures put in place many employment positions have lost meaning and many have since been rendered jobless. With this, minds have been changed. Many have realized the many gifts they were not using, while relying on that 8 to 5 job. Many have realized that “they are not the degrees they hold” and have taken up “odd jobs” which are earning them many folds. The situation has also triggered the desire to have multiple sources of income. And finally, probably most importantly, some have realized the importance of living in “The Now,” because times are totally unpredictable.
4. Modern Family
Before 2020 when Covid 19 was declared a pandemic, the routine in a normal modern home was, work, school, gym and co-curricular activities. The only time when family would come together would be during meals, once in a while. Nannies and teachers had more time with the children than their parents. With lockdown, office work was taken away, school became home based, Church was limited to a few, and this means that families have to contend with spending much time at home. Cruel, as it is, this disease has awakened family consciousness, and hopefully this could endure past the pandemic.
5. Innovation
Covid 19 is a major market disruptor that has led to unprecedented levels of innovation. Due to the lockdown, so many businesses have had to reinvent themselves. This includes cafes turning into takeaway spots and introducing a whole new industry of facemasks. Nairobi has had the introduction of mobile restaurants such as Coffee Plus. Home restaurants such as Dee Dee’s Kitchen have also come up and are winning all the way. Many businesses have undergone rapid digitization and are offering their services online. Some are using this wave of innovation to reimagine their business models to improve service delivery, and grow their market.
6. Home-Schooling
Home-schooling is becoming the new way of learning, exposing many parents to what their children know and do. Hitherto, the schooling responsibility was solely left to teachers. Covid 19 facilitated that change, and now parents have more understanding of their children, with a healthy dose of appreciation, to a larger extent, of what teachers do.
7. Gratitude
Finally, COVID-19 has given us a new sense of appreciation and gratefulness. It has offered us a new perspective on everything we have taken for granted for so long. Our freedoms, spare moments, connections, jobs, families, and friends. We have never questioned how life, as we know it, could be suddenly taken away from us. We now wake up more grateful for the things we have.
All these merits come at a great price of death, sickness and a depressed global economy. As heartbreaking and frightening as this crisis is, its positive outcomes can be gifts we should not overlook. If we ignore them, all of this becomes meaningless. We can become people full of empathy and gratitude, a peace-loving people; one Africa under God!
