AS GOVERNMENTS and people around the world continue efforts to tackle COVID-19, a non-profit organisation is aiming to use the power of storytelling to spread vital information and combat some of the confusion and misinformation that has surrounded the spread of the pandemic.

NABU has partnered with experts in the fields of health, neuroscience and child development, as well as a team of authors to publish its COVID-19 Health collection of stories.

Two of the free stories in the collection are The Virus-Stopping Champion and I Love You. 

The Virus-Stopping Champion features a child superhero who learns how to prevent the spread of the virus.

The story touches on the courageous steps every child and their family can take to fight COVID 19, from handwashing, social distancing and the importance of staying home. 

I Love You is aimed at helping  children cope with the emotional impact of not being able to visit their elderly relatives. 

Touching on the  global nature of COVID-19 it helps kids understand that the pandemic is affecting children all over the world no matter their age, skin colour or the language that they speak.

Confusion

NABU Executive Director Tanyella Evans said: “We are seeing a lot of misinformation and confusion about the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in communities of colour. Crafted by health experts and illustrated by Rwandan artists, these stories provide valuable information for a global audience.”

She continued: “In the US, we hope that they can particularly help African American families who are facing higher rates of infection by providing stories with images of kids that look like them fighting the coronavirus.”

Diversity

Launched in 2013 NABU publishes and distributes children’s books for free and champions mother tongue stories. 

According to the non profit organisation millions of children around the world do not see themselves reflected in the pages of their books.

NABU aims to address the diversity gap in children’s publishing and positively  impacts children’s health and cognitive development.

If you would like to access NABU’s COVID-19 Health Collection of children’s health stories please click here