The capacity to adapt in the face of change and adversity, as a tree bends in the wind,
is a sign of strength and resilience - and a strategy for survival.
Families that bend
So many families are going through significant changes as a result of CoVID19. Changes may include reduced household income, more contact with family members who are working or schooling from home and restricted access to outings and friends. While these changes can be a source of difficulty - some families are coming up with innovative strategies to adapt and get through the COVID19. The #FamiliesThatBend Campaign invites families to share their strategies for adapting to COVID19 to help others. By families we mean biological families and chosen families - including households of students and friends. The campaign includes:
- Two good men: a 7 min film about two men who experienced a major life and how they made it work
- Eid al-Adha: stories from Muslims about celebrating this special day without visiting families
- Hotel Quarantine: stories from families adapting to life in hotel quarantine
How to participate
Thinking about a change or challenge that has impacted on your family (or household) as a result of COVID19
- What did your family do to adapt?
- Share your story and an image with our group and use the hashtag #FamiliesThatBend
- Share your story on your own social media accounts to encourage others
Two good men
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John and Kerin were school principals, husbands and dads when they experienced the same major life change and had to resign from their jobs. In this 7 min film they describe their struggles, adaptation and triumph. The film presents an invitation to families to discuss
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Eid al-Adha
Eid al-Adha is an annual Muslim celebration beginning on 31st July, characterised by visits to family. In Victoria Muslim celebrations have been restricted because of Covid, families are unable to gather and so we are inviting Muslims in Victoria to share how they have adapted. Please share your Eid al-Adha story on our facebook page.
Hotel Quarantine
One of the significant changes some families have had to adapt to has been to live in Hotel Quarantine for two weeks. We invited families to share their stories of the challenges and the changes they made. Read some family diaries here:
- Sophie Kerr Azevedo's diary here
- Jocelyn Coleman's reflections here
Jocelyn Coleman
Tomorrow marks our last day in quarantine at the Westin Hotel in Perth. It is the last day of what has been a very long 4 months. Our journey began back in February when we were living in Italy, a place that had been our home for the past two and a half years. One day in February my 5 year old son just didn’t have school anymore. We had no idea what the future was going to hold or how it was going to effect our family. For two weeks life went on pretty much as normal, with the only discernible change being that school was still closed and so was daycare but I still took my boys to the playground and grocery shopping with me.
Then new rules came out. We weren’t allowed in playgrounds, we couldn’t walk more than 200 meters from home, and that was only with pets who needed a walk. We had to have only one family member grocery shop at a time. If we left the house we needed a declaration form stating that we were out for an essential reason, of which there were only 3.
My two sons, ages 4 and 5 did not leave the vicinity of our house and yard for 3 months. I was grateful every day that we had a yard, a house that was big enough for them to run around in when the weather was bad, that my husband had a job and that I was never worried about putting food on the table.
As April was nearing a close we made the decision to try to come to Australia to be with my parents as my husband finished up his work in Italy. We knew it would be the best option for everyone, especially my sons.
After our exemption to policy form was approved we began making our final preparations to leave. The only information we had as to what would happen when we would finally arrive in Perth was that we would be met by police at the airport and then escorted to our quarantine location. Our flights went incredibly smoothly, the airline and airport staff were very helpful in all aspects and did their best to make our flights and layovers as comfortable as possible.
The process of getting through Perth Airport was long and arduous. There were lots of forms to fill out, both by ourselves and on the side of the police force and lots of wait time, ensuring that everyone was processed and all on the buses before we could depart. The police force did a tremendous job, they worked with everyone as quickly as they could and tried to make the experience as easy as possible for us.
After arriving at the hotel the staff were very professional and practiced. 4 people at a time were allowed off the bus and they were very conscious of distance between people. The boys and I were able to get a trolley with all of our luggage and despite being late at night when we finally made it up to out hotel room they were so excited to see everything and ran around checking it all out. As I had no idea the accommodation that we would be in for the next two weeks I was a little apprehensive, however I was very surprised and pleased by our room. There was a seating area with a couch and table near the main bed, a short hallway that ran along the side of the bathroom and a separate area with two beds in it for my sons. The short hallway has been fantastic for my sons as they’ve run up and down it, thrown balls the length of it, tapped balloons back and forth along it and rolled cars to see how far they can get them.
The past two weeks have definitely been rough with two young boys who just want to run around outside and don’t fully understand the reasons as to why they are in quarantine and can’t see their grandparents. My parents and family have been lifesavers during this time. We had brought a few activities along with us, such as balloons, colouring books, cards, puzzles and Pokémon cards which have been played with everyday since we got here. However, without deliveries from my family every few days we would have struggled a lot more than we did! Every time there was a knock at the door the boys would be so excited, hoping for another delivery with fun things for them. My parents dropped off games such as Twister and Snakes and Ladders, some more puzzles, books, building toys and Transformers which definitely had a lot of play potential. They also brought us a DVD player and a whole bunch of kid movies for the boys to watch. Most important of all, they bought us snacks and on a few occasions, dinner. The hotel staff did a wonderful job of providing us with 3 meals a day, and responding to all our requests whenever they could, however, with two fussy boys who didn’t want to eat much of anything that was provided the snacks and dinner were invaluable.
Throughout this time I’ve tried to keep some form of schedule, so we don’t lose complete track of days and nights and turn into sloths! It’s been important to me to make our beds in the morning, to find time to workout each day and to try and do lots of different activities throughout the day. Some days, this plan worked better than others.
As the time has gone on, this forced isolation and quarantine has definitely effected our moods in a negative way. The boys are much quicker to snap at each other and lose their tempers, which is incredibly understandable, being cooped up in a room for two weeks without getting to go outside. We have been ‘zooming’ or face-timing with family members daily which has definitely been helping, we have our quarantine colander which the hotel has provided where we’ve been crossing off every day as it ends and we’ve talked about all of the fun things that we can do after we finally get out of here.
It sometimes feels as though we have been stuck in this hotel room for months but I know that as long as we pass our health screening tomorrow our time in quarantine is finally coming to a close. I think it is amazing, the lengths that the government is going to to keep the population safe and to provide the best accommodation possible for the people who are in quarantine. This experience could have been so much worse, but all in all, as much as I never want to repeat this quarantine I know that everyone has done the best they can with the situation and that I am lucky to be here in this country.
Tomorrow marks our last day in quarantine at the Westin Hotel in Perth. It is the last day of what has been a very long 4 months. Our journey began back in February when we were living in Italy, a place that had been our home for the past two and a half years. One day in February my 5 year old son just didn’t have school anymore. We had no idea what the future was going to hold or how it was going to effect our family. For two weeks life went on pretty much as normal, with the only discernible change being that school was still closed and so was daycare but I still took my boys to the playground and grocery shopping with me.
Then new rules came out. We weren’t allowed in playgrounds, we couldn’t walk more than 200 meters from home, and that was only with pets who needed a walk. We had to have only one family member grocery shop at a time. If we left the house we needed a declaration form stating that we were out for an essential reason, of which there were only 3.
My two sons, ages 4 and 5 did not leave the vicinity of our house and yard for 3 months. I was grateful every day that we had a yard, a house that was big enough for them to run around in when the weather was bad, that my husband had a job and that I was never worried about putting food on the table.
As April was nearing a close we made the decision to try to come to Australia to be with my parents as my husband finished up his work in Italy. We knew it would be the best option for everyone, especially my sons.
After our exemption to policy form was approved we began making our final preparations to leave. The only information we had as to what would happen when we would finally arrive in Perth was that we would be met by police at the airport and then escorted to our quarantine location. Our flights went incredibly smoothly, the airline and airport staff were very helpful in all aspects and did their best to make our flights and layovers as comfortable as possible.
The process of getting through Perth Airport was long and arduous. There were lots of forms to fill out, both by ourselves and on the side of the police force and lots of wait time, ensuring that everyone was processed and all on the buses before we could depart. The police force did a tremendous job, they worked with everyone as quickly as they could and tried to make the experience as easy as possible for us.
After arriving at the hotel the staff were very professional and practiced. 4 people at a time were allowed off the bus and they were very conscious of distance between people. The boys and I were able to get a trolley with all of our luggage and despite being late at night when we finally made it up to out hotel room they were so excited to see everything and ran around checking it all out. As I had no idea the accommodation that we would be in for the next two weeks I was a little apprehensive, however I was very surprised and pleased by our room. There was a seating area with a couch and table near the main bed, a short hallway that ran along the side of the bathroom and a separate area with two beds in it for my sons. The short hallway has been fantastic for my sons as they’ve run up and down it, thrown balls the length of it, tapped balloons back and forth along it and rolled cars to see how far they can get them.
The past two weeks have definitely been rough with two young boys who just want to run around outside and don’t fully understand the reasons as to why they are in quarantine and can’t see their grandparents. My parents and family have been lifesavers during this time. We had brought a few activities along with us, such as balloons, colouring books, cards, puzzles and Pokémon cards which have been played with everyday since we got here. However, without deliveries from my family every few days we would have struggled a lot more than we did! Every time there was a knock at the door the boys would be so excited, hoping for another delivery with fun things for them. My parents dropped off games such as Twister and Snakes and Ladders, some more puzzles, books, building toys and Transformers which definitely had a lot of play potential. They also brought us a DVD player and a whole bunch of kid movies for the boys to watch. Most important of all, they bought us snacks and on a few occasions, dinner. The hotel staff did a wonderful job of providing us with 3 meals a day, and responding to all our requests whenever they could, however, with two fussy boys who didn’t want to eat much of anything that was provided the snacks and dinner were invaluable.
Throughout this time I’ve tried to keep some form of schedule, so we don’t lose complete track of days and nights and turn into sloths! It’s been important to me to make our beds in the morning, to find time to workout each day and to try and do lots of different activities throughout the day. Some days, this plan worked better than others.
As the time has gone on, this forced isolation and quarantine has definitely effected our moods in a negative way. The boys are much quicker to snap at each other and lose their tempers, which is incredibly understandable, being cooped up in a room for two weeks without getting to go outside. We have been ‘zooming’ or face-timing with family members daily which has definitely been helping, we have our quarantine colander which the hotel has provided where we’ve been crossing off every day as it ends and we’ve talked about all of the fun things that we can do after we finally get out of here.
It sometimes feels as though we have been stuck in this hotel room for months but I know that as long as we pass our health screening tomorrow our time in quarantine is finally coming to a close. I think it is amazing, the lengths that the government is going to to keep the population safe and to provide the best accommodation possible for the people who are in quarantine. This experience could have been so much worse, but all in all, as much as I never want to repeat this quarantine I know that everyone has done the best they can with the situation and that I am lucky to be here in this country.
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- Drummond St Services website: here
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