DURBAN -
In an effort to build empathy for those who have contracted Covid-19 and encourage the communities in which they live and work to stop stigmatising them the City of Cape Town and advertising agency HelloFCB+ have launched a campaign called '
My COVID-19 Dairy'.
The stigma of Covid-19 patients and healthcare facilities treating them has been a serious concern for the KwaZulu-Natal government. This is after a R6 million hospital building in northern KZN was burnt to the ground allegedly to protest the hospital being used as a Covid-19 facility.
The new campaign showcases Vuyokazi Nqayi, a 35-year-old mother of two from Langa, Cape Town. Every day, she films a short video in which she shares her feelings, symptoms, fears and how she appreciates the support and kindness she is receiving from the online community.
“We had many conversations with Vuyokazi to ensure she was up to it. She, like us, wants to build awareness and education around the virus and the effects of stigmatisation, reminding our residents that the Covid-19 statistics are actually human beings who deserve compassion and kindness,” said Director of Communications for the City of Cape Town, Priya Reddy.
“We felt that by letting the residents of Cape Town build a closeness to someone suffering from the virus, understanding their daily struggles and learning more about Covid-19 through them, it would build empathy that would lead to less stigmatisation,”
“These daily diary updates are proving that it’s far easier to stigmatise when those infected appear as statistics, but far harder when you form an emotional connection with someone suffering from the virus,” said HelloFCB+’s creative team, Zodwa Gunuza and Chane Keyser.
Follow #MyCovid19Diary on Facebook and Twitter as Vuyokazi shares her daily diary entries.
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