The year that is about to end will undoubtedly be remembered for the overbearing passage of Covid-19. And it is not gone yet!
Its influence has affected everyone, some physically, some morally, and even spiritually. All we do is talk about it on the news and, especially, in private conversations and it seems that now we know almost everything about it, especially its nefarious deadly influence.
We think that all of us, in one way or another, have been hit hard by the effects of the virus, lamenting the loss of loved ones and friends, undergoing restrictions and limiting our freedom of action. A prison with an open gate.
During the first part of the year, when the first wave was pounding, the organisation GAiN Europe, an extension of GAIN International produced a series of twelve video messages to talk about the Coronavirus in an original way. The campaign was titled ‘Dearcoronavirus’, with the intention of opening an imaginary dialogue with the virus to address a series of related issues that would give courage and hope to the recipients of these messages. You can watch the videos here.
We all hoped that with the arrival of summer and the application of certain restrictions, Covid-19 would disappear or at least be significantly reduced. But unfortunately, the opposite has happened, and the second wave seems to be worse than the first. And that was the reason for producing another video to reinforce a message of hope that we all need.
The video itself is very simple but extremely profound and reflective. It has been produced in collaboration with 11 countries from different regions, including Italy, Sweden, Germany, Spain, the UK, Argentina, Brazil, the USA, Thailand, Kenya, and Lebanon.
It portrays the reality of many families and people that had so many dreams, plans and projects for 2020, which unfortunately have not been realised in this very strange year. The situations illustrated and represented in the video are based on real cases experienced by many people in these countries.
The clip portraits people’s lives as they were last December and then how their lives were affected by various disasters and their frustrations as they were being forced to cancel their plans.
The video portrays not only the COVID-19 situation but also some other tragedies and sad events that have happened this year such as wildfires in Australia and California, the anti-racism movements worldwide (Black lives matter), the explosion in Beirut, the locust plague in East Africa and some other tragedies that affected so many people around the world.
At the end, the clip invites us and motivates us to remember that God is the same, God was, still is, and will be with us. God, the centre of our lives, has not changed and this is the message to be communicated in the New Year.
The clip will be released on 20 December 2020 and you will be able to watch it on the Trans-European Division YouTube channel.
