Building Connection in Uncertain Times

At Empathy Action we thrive on building connections with people, with organisations and with communities. We believe that sharing stories binds us together and creates the space for empathy to grow. Our simulations, our handicrafts, our conversations, all share this purpose.

While we had hoped that the start of the new school year might herald a return to a new normal, times are still very uncertain and the parameters of what is possible are changing daily. Yet we would love to focus on how, despite these challenges, we can connect to each other and to our communities both here and across the globe.

Over the summer we have been considering how we reach out to each other, examining ways of running our Empathy programmes virtually and how we can replicate the experience of our Empathy Exercises while keeping everyone safe. It’s a challenge but it is one we are very much up for! Early next month, we hope to run a Covid-secure Poverty Trap experience within a school setting and we are also focussing on our incredible handicrafts, hoping to replicate the outreach and success of our Rainbow campaign over the summer.

Going forward, we aim to deliver more Empathy experiences and programmes virtually and, where possible and safe, in person. If you are interested in volunteering with us or if you’d like to know more, please do get in touch.

And keep watching this space, as over the next few weeks, we share the ever-evolving stories of our makers and their products as they too adapt to our changing world.

Choosing to listen

Imagine: a trip overseas, a drink with friends, a much-needed haircut. All these pursuits are now possible. Summer has arrived along with its team sports, outdoor performances, barbeques, picnics and ice creams.

Panic buying is over and spirits are brightening as people come together and share stories of lockdown, as if it’s an event of the past. Life is – it seems – returning to an approximation of ‘normal’. Even traffic is once again a thing.

Now, imagine the elderly woman still alone in her home because she is ‘clinically extremely vulnerable’. Sometimes she goes for a week without seeing a single soul. She is sharp as a whip and is aware that isolation is making her frailty worse and her mind slow down.

Imagine, too, the man who works in the supermarket. He’s scared for his father who has underlying health issues and depends on him. Shops are now busier and shoppers are more relaxed – many do not wear face masks and some get too close. The man knows he is lucky to have work, yet he also knows that he needs to keep himself and his father safe.

There are many more people we could imagine: the woman who is paralysed by her fear of catching coronavirus. She prefers to play it safe and stay cooped up in her flat, despite her friends’ reassurances. Or the man who is beset by concerns about a different disease, but doesn’t want to burden the medics. Or the young couple worried about their future now that both are unemployed.

And imagine the abused children who suffered in silence long before COVID-19 was a headline. They still do.

The pandemic has allowed strong characteristics to flourish. The kind that are “the best in people”.

Volunteer-based initiatives have been welcomed far and wide, and we have innovated and adapted in life-affirming ways (some of which we may want to keep). And the accelerated laser-like focus on key issues has been hard but necessary. Many are waking up to problems which have lingered under the radar for too long.

The story of the pandemic is messy and ongoing.

Lockdown is easing (for now) but there is no vaccine yet. We have to learn how to accommodate the disease and remember to stay connected.

Busier streets render those locked behind front doors more invisible still. Let’s listen to the woman – so aware of her vulnerability – when she wonders, without a shred of self-pity, whether she will outlast the pandemic. And look behind the smile of the man at the checkout as he serves you and thinks of his father.

The world needs characters like these more than ever. Ones who will lead us and not leave people behind. Ones who will remember that others are vulnerable.

The opportunities to choose empathy today are greater than ever.

Empathy Action 2.0

This is an exciting and creative moment for Empathy Action.”

Over these last months we’ve been exploring how to continue our work of crafting and curating experiences that build empathy and encourage compassionate action. In these changing times, we’ve been inspired to consider how we can adapt our message of choosing empathy and its importance within our communities and across the world.

We are applying our expertise to create new, innovative programmes offering bespoke empathy experiences that can be delivered remotely or with smaller teams.”

It’s a great time to speak to us particularly if, like us, you’re thinking about what you can do differently.

Whether it’s a virtual classroom visit, an in-depth empathy exercise or access to our bank of resources, we’d love to hear from you!

‘I am Deaf’

Imagine you are at the shops and the cashier asks you a question. You can see that she’s waiting for your answer, because her eyes tell you so. But you don’t know what she is saying. Nor can you read her lips, which – in normal times – is how you get by in situations like these. Today, the cashier is wearing a face mask.

One of our team, Vix, was born deaf. She has always lived in the ‘hearing world’ in which

I mainly thought I could ‘get away with it.’”

Vix joined the team in February so getting to know her has largely been limited to online sessions, emails and WhatsApp. Given the steep learning curve we’ve all faced in adapting to using new platforms, it is even more impressive that Vix’s ability to lipread on Zoom is such that many of our team had no idea that she was deaf until last week.

Nor had it occurred to some of us how beneficial transparent face masks might be (arguably not just for those who are hard of hearing).

Zombies”

… is how Vix describes the impression she gains of people wearing cloth face masks. Her response to her own recent experiences, which have left her feeling isolated, has been to turn them into something positive: Vix has decided to tell the story of her deafness:

“Instead of hiding that part of me .. I need to stand up and acknowledge my deafness .. [as] an essential and positive part of me.”

It’s a brave move, and Vix admits to being terrified about starting her blog, which is entitled, ‘I am deaf‘. Vix is currently unable to attend any virtual meetings as one of her hearing aids has stopped functioning. Meetings already held challenges as there is a great deal – body language etc – which cannot be interpreted online.

Vix hopes that automated subtitles will become available on Zoom, but otherwise she relies on the lighting on each team member’s face being good enough for her to read their lips, and it’s always great when the ‘chat’ facility is used. Of course, it’s tricky when hands go over mouths (something many of us do unconsciously). As Vix says,

“If I can’t lipread, then it’s like a blur, and when people speak louder, it’s just a louder blur!!! With lipreading, and facial expressions, the blur turns into a sound that I recognise. It’s really tricky to explain actually. It just becomes clearer.”

Some Zoom Tips

Fortunately for us, Vix’s latest ‘I am deaf‘ post is on ‘The Zoom Call Minefield’ and it won’t stop there. Vix is aware there is much that she can share that will be helpful to us all.

Please do take a look. Think about all the people you’re going to encounter – online and in reality – over the next weeks and months.

“Be kind, for everyone is fighting a hard battle. And if you really want to see what people are, all you have to do is look.” – Auggie Pullman (Wonder)

Empathy in a Time of Crisis – 9

Continuing our blog about this time of global crisis from the perspective of a voluntary team, taking each day as it comes. Thank you for reading.

What’s in a photo…?

Someone in the early 20th century is supposed to have said: “A picture is worth a thousand words.”

Here we are a century later, in the grip of a pandemic, and these words are amplified. In our technological age we can connect with each other in virtual ways, and so we are able to enjoy an extra special dimension to life. Grandparents can applaud their grandchildren’s first steps via FaceTime, lessons and plays are delivered online, and photos stream to our screens as loved ones share beautiful views or a smile from a familiar face.

Telling stories through photos is something Empathy Action has been exploring this week. At a time when we are far apart, it continues to be a wonderful way for us to stay together. Here are our stories, from afternoon tea to garden magic. We hope you enjoy them.

: Garden Joy

: Being the Youngest

: Together

: Catch a Rainbow

: Washing Line?

: Gamers

: Miaow

: Miaow to you too!

: Solidarity

: Rooms

: Afternoon Tea

: New Skills

: Siblings

The power of a simple series of photographs to narrate one of the key stories of today, and do good at the same time, is clear to see here. Ordinary, yet extraordinary, people taking photos with their phones of life and work in our hospitals in order to create a short fund-raising film focusing on the ‘hands that make us proud’.

Stay safe, keep connected, and please do get in touch with your own photo stories. We would love to see them.

#chooseempathy #sharestories