Heroes comic strip champions coivd19 fighters

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The  first of three covid19 sequential arts strips created by The Heroes Foundation. -
MAIN PHOTO The first of three covid19 sequential arts strips created by The Heroes Foundation. -

The Heroes Foundation is doing its part to flatten the curve and spread positivity when so many things are uncertain during this covid19 pandemic.

Already the non-profit organisation has posted a “sequential arts” or comic strip indicating how people were being heroes, and several one-minute videos of medical workers giving their personal experiences and encouraging the public to follow health guidelines.

CEO of the Heroes Foundation Lawrence Arjoon explained that they were all part of the Heroes for Life movement which was launched last year at Heroes Convention VII. He said it started as an anti-crime, anti-bullying, drugs, apathy and environmental destruction initiative.

“We encourage youths to find the heroes inside themselves. We encourage them to find the courage within themselves to stand up for what is right, to be inspirations and positive influences in the lives of others, for them to be heroes as well.”

As part of that movement, message boards were hung at secondary schools where students shared positive messages. The students also went back to their homes, schools and communities and tried to live up to their Heroes or Life commitment to inspire positivity.

He said the covid19 video series was the first public show of that movement.

“We found that while a lot of information and guidelines were being shared about how we should behave and the actions we should take against the spread of coronavirus, we were hearing and seeing that quite a bit of people were not adhering to the guidelines. So we decided to start sharing the messages of the authorities and people who were at the forefront of the fight, sharing their experiences and calls, and getting as many different voices as we can to echo the calls so that it could resonate with as many people as possible.”

Heroes Foundation CEO Lawrence Arjoon, left, chairman emeritus and foundation founder Phillip Julien, centre, and chairman Joel "Monty" Pemberton, right, raise their shields, pledging fealty to TT at a Heroes Foundation event at the TT Energy Conference 2020 IN jANUARY. PHOTO COURTESY THE HEROES FOUNDATION -

He said the videos shared the stories of medical professionals, people risking their lives and fighting to save the lives of others, and encouraged others to be heroes by staying home and stopping the spread of corona to preserve life.

So far Dr Reisha Seebaransingh, a writer with Heroes, and Dr Jenna Graham were highlighted, and the organisation planned to share videos on social media platforms – Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube – for as long as TT is dealing with covid19.

The sequential arts strips, he said, would also be encouraging and educational, and would be shared on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.

Creators include project lead, Rangie Persad; head illustrator, Shawn Riaz Mohammed; and writer, Seebaransingh.

Persad said the idea was to get the proper type of message across in a way that was in an easily relatable format, especially for children. “A lot of people are putting out messages but we want to get straight to the basics. Stay at home, wash your hands, stay apart – we want to get that core message out.”

Mohammed agreed saying that comics appealed to just about everyone, the message was simple, and so it would be easily consumed.

He added that there would be at least three strips. The second would be what people could do to be heroes, and the third would be positive things being done by everyday heroes such as people coming together, being kind to each other, and showing their values.

“The important thing is that we are in this together and each of us have a part to play in this fight. Each of us can be heroes,” said Arjoon.

He said Heroes was started 18 years ago by Phillip Julien to inspire hope in TT’s youth for a sustainable future through leadership, mentorship, and opportunity.

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“The whole concept was to provide inspiration by fostering an appreciation for local achievers and the concept of heroism. And what came out of the first Heroes convention was the development programme of the Heroes Club in schools.”

At the club, case officer meet with students and help them find motivation beyond what they were accustomed through various activities. He said Julien found that, in certain communities, many students were dropping out of school. So the programme was created to give youth in communities where they do not see the need to go to school, opportunities beyond what they know.

He said Julien loved comics and realised youths connected with them. He wanted to inspire youths about life and so developed two series – Heart of a Hero and Heroes of a Nation.

Heart of a Hero is a sequential arts book series of relatable stories about people similar to today’s youths that inspire heroic qualities and attributes. A relatively new aspect to that is the new book, Bullets and Unicorns, which is an anti-crime initiative.

Heroes of a Nation highlighted the stories of TT’s national heroes including Professor Ken Julien, Olympian Hasely Crawford, Justice Ulric Cross, and the TT national football World Cup qualifying team.

However, the sequential arts is just one aspect of Heroes. Also important is the delivery of programmes through the Youth Development Programme, and Big Brothers and Big Sisters of TT.

Arjoon said when the covid19 restrictions were implemented, the staff was able to move everything online quickly to get youths connected to the programmes. He said both the Youth Development and Big Brothers and Sisters sessions were conducted online with teachers, parents, and children.

He added that Heroes was already discussing with corporate sponsors how to roll out these programmes virtually for the long-term.

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"Heroes comic strip champions coivd19 fighters"

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