Medical aid
The novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic has provided an opportunity for many Qatar residents to learn new skills and accomplish pending tasks while staying or working from home.
Public relations enthusiast and Doha resident Ysa Chandna told Gulf Times that from the moment he started working remotely from home since midMarch, he expected the world of communications will never be the same again in the post Covid-19 world.
“There will be new norms, new tools, and a new way of life. In Qatar and abroad. To this end, I am preparing for that new paradigm of communications by launching an educational YouTube channel on public relations and communications,” he said.
“I have taken this newfound ‘me-time’ to be the most productive version of myself – I realised that there’s a dearth of easy-to-digest, enjoyable information about public relations,” stressed Chandna.
He has been creating videos, designing some helpful infographics, and post-editing videos for his soon-to-be-launched YouTube channel that will help everybody communicate better.
Chandna noted that the channel’s content will be simple regardless of the person’s professional background whether he or she is an engineer, doctor, pilot, student, retail store attendant, government officer, or any other profession.
“You will still be able to learn something new, informative, and totally 101. It’s for everybody,” he said.
For engineer Ressie S Fos, a
Filipino expatriate, the pandemic situation has given him more time to organise his resources on various engineering applications, which he plans to share online with the Filipino community.
He said the current situation also allowed him to get back to his regular engagement in media online fora/conferences in the home province in the Philippines.
As a contribution to Qatar’s initiative, Fos volunteered for the ‘Connecting For Care’ programme launched by Qatar Foundation and other stakeholders providing an online help desk platform for workers.
“Family-wise, much time for bonding in the living room, teaching them about household and Covid-19 related safety. Risking myself rather than my family, I locked them down inside the house, so I’m the only one who can go out for groceries and other errands (though my wife complains as my groceries are always lacking items from her list),” he added.
“Viewing from a positive point of view, Covid-19 house quarantine also gives me ample time for home-relaxation and entertainment as I have much time now watching new movies,” Fos said.
Due to the ongoing crisis, Farah Mahfouz, a Palestinian-Canadian resident in Qatar, started to spend more quality time with her family and appreciate the small things she used to take for granted like going to a restaurant with friends or spending time with colleagues at the office.
“In addition, I came to realise the importance of keeping my mental health on track; I am exercising at home regularly, doing virtual yoga sessions with my friends, and starting to get into the habit of meditating. These are just some of the things that are working for me,” she said. “However, everyone is different and I encourage others to set a personal goal that they would like to achieve during these difficult times. It is very easy to feel pressured by what other people are doing, which might make you feel like you aren’t doing enough to be productive,” Mahfouz added. “However, simply setting an intention and self-reflecting can bring you a long way.”
Janus B, also a Filipino expatriate, said staying at home gave her more time to organise and delete thousands of unnecessary messages, pictures and other files from her mobile phone, laptop and other gadgets.
“When I was cleaning the house, I found my unused sewing machine in a cabinet and I realised it’s time for me to learn dressmaking,” she said, adding that she plans to learn other skills and do other tasks she had previously planned before the pandemic.