Collection of COVID-19 experiences to raise funds for NHS charities

A collection of COVID-19 experiences compiled in a new book,  ‘Together‘ will raise funds for NHS charities and frontline workers.

A monk, a dancer, artists, writers, and frontline workers from across five continents helped to make up a collection of experiences of the coronavirus pandemic.

British contributors have come from Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Lincoln, Birmingham, London, Margate, Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Falmouth, Leeds, St Albans and other parts of the UK.

Among the stories detailed in the collection are of those that built life-saving ventilators out of old washing machines, creating neighbourhood Whatsapp groups to keep an eye on those that needed it most, and military veterans setting up relief camps to help struggling locals in India.

Poet Benjamin Zephaniah leads the line-up of writers talking about their experiences of the pandemic, with others including British Paralympian Ryan Raghoo and musician Bappi Lahiri.

The book’s contributors come from diverse backgrounds, genders, and ethnicities where the youngest author is seven and the oldest contributor is in his 90s.

The book is the brainchild of London-based social enterprise The Otermans Institute and was compiled in just 40 days.

Launched on Amazon the book also includes unique art pieces from independent artists inspired by their contributions from their own reflections of the pandemic.

Book curator and editor Dev Aditya said: “We believe it is a truly inclusive body of work that is a collective representation of the unity humanity has shown during the pandemic.”

“Our contributors span five continents and represent a wide spectrum of everyday life – from the creative arts, the frontline, and to the very youngest in our society.”

The other book curator and editor Dr Pauldy Otermans said: “We are indebted to the amount of support we have received from across the world to make this project come to life within this narrow timeline and we hope we can make a meaningful difference to charities supporting the NHS at one of its most challenging times.”