Reuters photographers capture children around the world holding up drawings of what they miss most during lockdowns…
Children confined to their homes under lockdown are drawing what they miss most – friends at school, grandparents, football and green open spaces.
Regardless of where they are, the themes are often the same.
Juan, eight, and Mateo, 10, pose for a photograph while holding pictures that they drew during the coronavirus disease outbreak, while standing on the balcony at their home in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on 14th April. PICTURE: Reuters/Agustin Marcarian
From Tokyo to Buenos Aires, and New York to Kathmandu, youngsters have taken to their balconies or front lawns to display and explain the drawings they have made to Reuters photographers.
Eight-year-old Reku Matsui in Tokyo has drawn himself between his grandparents, all three of them smiling together.
“I miss being with my grandmother and my grandfather. Also, I want to go to my grandmother’s house,” he said.
Reku Matsui, eight, and Yaya Matsui, 12, pose for a photograph while holding pictures that they drew during the coronavirus disease outbreak, as they stand on the balcony of their home in Tokyo, Japan, on 19th April, 2020. PICTURE: Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon
His older sister Yaya, 12, has drawn a picture of herself and a friend. “What I want to do the most right now is hang out with my friends.”
In the German town of Bad Honnef, near Bonn, six-year-old Tom explains: “I have painted a picture of the house of grandma and grandpa, because I miss them so much.”
Noa, seven, and Tom, six, pose for a photograph while holding pictures that they drew during the coronavirus disease outbreak, as they sit in front of their house in Bad Honnef, Germany, on 17th April. PICTURE: Reuters/Wolfgang Rattay
Besides longed-for grandparents, children are also depicting the sports they miss.
Ivan Posta, 8, and brother Vince, 11, who live in the Hungarian capital Budapest, have drawn huge soccer balls.
“I drew a soccer ball, because we can’t play football in the garden as there are trees and bushes everywhere,” said Vince.
Ivan Posta, eight, Vince Posta, 11, and Vilma Posta, pose for a photograph while holding pictures that they drew during the coronavirus disease outbreak, while standing on the balcony at their home in Budapest, Hungary, on 10th April. PICTURE: Reuters/Bernadett Szabo
Thousands of miles away in the Nigerian city of Lagos, 11-year-old Olatunji Adebayo has also drawn a huge soccer ball.
“I miss playing football with my friends before the lockdown…I feel sad about the lockdown,” he said.
Sofiat Kolawole, eight, Olatunji Adebayo, 11, and Amira Akanbi 11, pose for a photograph while holding pictures that they drew during the coronavirus disease outbreak, as they stand in front of their house in Lagos, Nigeria, on 18th April. PICTURE: Reuters/Temilade Adelaja
Flowers, woods and green spaces also feature prominently.
Jane Hassebroek, who lives in Brooklyn, New York, said: “I chose to draw my local park because it’s a place me and my friends can hang out with each other away from school and home and just have fun.”
“This lockdown has made me feel pretty trapped because I live in New York City so it is hard to social distance when there are so many people around,” the 13-year-old added.
Jane Hassebroek, 13, poses for a photograph while holding a picture that she drew during the coronavirus disease outbreak, while standing outside her home in Brooklyn, New York, US, on 19th April. PICTURE: Reuters/Caitlin Ochs
Sandithi Illeperuma is 14 and lives in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo.
In her picture, a girl sits alone in the bottom right corner with her knees up to her chin, wearing a face mask. At the top, a group of female figures in swirling skirts dance together, enjoying themselves.
“Before the lockdown, I used to draw fun and creative stuff. But after the lockdown…I started to draw the things I missed the most…I draw my emotions. It has made me feel very lonely because I’m the only child,” she added.
Sandithi Illeperuma, 14, poses for a photograph while holding a picture that she drew during the coronavirus disease outbreak, as she stands in front of her home in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on 17th April. PICTURE: Reuters/Dinuka Liyanawatte
Some youngsters have tackled the coronavirus itself.
Nipoon Kitkrailard, 10, who lives in Thailand’s Samut Prakan province, has drawn the virus as a monster coming to invade the world, but medical workers and items including hand gel and face masks hold it back.
Nipoon Kitkrailard, 10, poses for a photograph while holding a picture that he drew during the coronavirus disease outbreak, as he stands by a window at his home in Samut Prakan, Thailand, on 21st April. PICTURE: Reuters/Athit Perawongmetha
In China, where the outbreak of the new coronavirus began, and where the lockdown has been lifted first, 11-year-old Li Congchen in Beijing has made an intricate series of drawings showing the virus arriving on a “bat aircraft”, people willing to give their lives to stand up to it, and in the end human beings defeating it with “vaccine guns.”
Li Congchen, 11, poses for a photograph while holding a picture that he drew during the coronavirus disease outbreak, as he stands by a window at his grandparent’s home in Beijing, China, on 19th April. PICTURE: Reuters/Tingshu Wang
