Coronavirus in the Canary Islands: A letter to relieve the heart - La Provincia

A letter from encouragement and hope to ease the heart of those who are isolated by the pandemic. The best way to fight the coronavirus is to union and solidarity among all, help the most vulnerable, and of course, those who are in hospitals admitted and isolated as a result of this disease.

Boys and girls are the first to show solidarity, to give hope and fill the sick with energy and encouragement. The innocence that remains in their hearts fills those around them with love and that is why the association #Up2U Project has decided to respond to the surgeon's appeal Cristina Marín Campos of La Princesa Hospital in Madrid, which asks the population to send missives to those affected by the virus since they are in a "brutal isolation", they have not been able to communicate with their families, they are "completely alone" and they see the doctors "once a day".

Since #Up2U Project they have proposed to the minors who are in the shelters and to judicial measures that they join the initiative to alleviate the soul of the inmates and make the isolation time of those admitted by this pandemic more enjoyable than, in some cases, they have other relatives in the ICU and cannot have contact with them due to prevention, according to Marín Campos.

In addition, this also helps them as they get distracted, analyze and reinforce values. "Put yourself in the other's place" which is very important at this time, many perhaps do not understand the reason why they cannot go out and the professionals who work in these centers give their best so that these minors, who are from the age of five, have different activities every day. day and can cope with this exceptional situation. One of the ways is to make them see that "there are people who are having a worse time. That is why we proposed to respond to this initiative to give a word of encouragement to those who are sick and cannot see their families, "says the head of the Juvenile Court number 1 of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and president of Up2Uproyect, Reyes Martel. "With this we try to develop their values", explains the magistrate.

"This goes for those who are bad and need encouragement. I would like them to recover" begins one of the letters of these boys and girls. "Cheer up, life is a joy. There is always a smile", says another missive. "Hello, today is my birthday number 10. Congratulations if it is yours too", writes another one of the minors, all of them accompanied with the drawing of a rainbow and one of them has the shape of a heart.

It is not easy to be confined and this has been evidenced in some of these centers that share about 80 minors. Some have special needs, behavior problems, and addictions, which is why professionals do "a tremendous effort" to keep them busy and avoid altercations such as the one that occurred at the La Santa youth hostel in Lanzarote, works temporarily as a reception center for unaccompanied minor immigrants. Several of the 57 young people who live in that center refused to abide by the confinement order and the state of alarm decreed last weekend by the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, for this reason they caused destruction between Monday and Tuesday of this week inside and outside the facilities.

There are 83 minors in the Educational Center for Juvenile Offenders (CIEMI) in La Montañeta (Gran Canaria), while there are 110 in the CIEMI in Valle Tabares, although it has capacity for 80. In the latter, which is the The only one with a closed regime, "they are taking it easy," says the magistrate. "Not everything is so black," says Martel. We stop the virus together