The unsung pandemic heroes
For some it's a sense of duty. For others it's an obligation. And then there are those for which it’s a necessity. Two years ago the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak a global pandemic. Nobody knew exactly what lay ahead. But over the course of the following 24 months, extraordinary women and men have risen to the…, A Ugandan healthcare worker uses a megaphone to encourage her community to get vaccinated , When Judith Candiru was growing up, she always admired the white outfits nurses wore. For her, it was emblematic of the care they provided. Now she’s one of them. She takes pride in putting on that sharp uniform, complete with a yellow belt. Judith Candiru, an Assistant Nursing Officer in the Yumbe District of Uganda, provides COVID-19…, Climbing mountains and crossing canyons in Nepal with vaccines on her back , Birma Kunwar has been weaving her way up mountains and across suspended footbridges for years now. With a box of vaccines perched on her back , she ascends hilly pathways in the remote part of Nepal’s far west. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, Kunwar would collect lifesaving vaccines in the town of Khalanga, which is the district headquarters…, The teenage innovator whose invention is making handwashing safer , Emmanuel Cosmos Msoka is an innovator and an activist. It’s no coincidence that the 18-year-old from Tanzania invented a crucial hygiene tool during the pandemic that has a water theme to it. “I was born at the foot of Africa’s highest peak, Mount Kilimanjaro," he says. The only place in my country where water turns to snow and ice.” 18-year-old…, Caring for her siblings while studying in times of loss , Keysha is 14 years old. But her wisdom and thoughtfulness go beyond her years, as she’s had to grow up fast. Her mother, who worked at a restaurant, lost her life to COVID-19. “Our mother worked 12-hour days when the restaurant opened for business again,” Keysha says. “Her immune system was weak, that’s probably why she got COVID.” 14-year-old…
