“You never realise the value of a hug until you have to explain to your child why you cannot embrace her.” These are the words of Deléne de Lange, a local mother, as she shares her story of mothering during Covid-19.

According to her, the things she never regarded as luxuries ended up being of great value when she was restricted from doing them.

Deléne is a mother to nine-year-old Katelyn, who had to watch her parents fight the Covid-19 coronavirus that is reported to have claimed thousands of people in the country. It is also reported to have killed millions in the world.

“It was a heartbreaking decision we had to make so that we could protect her. She could not understand why I could not comfort her before bedtime like I used to. And at some point, fear overwhelmed her and she started wondering if she would lose us.

“As a mother, it was hard having to go through this, and I had to help her understand that we were not going anywhere. Her fear started when she heard about the danger of Covid-19 from the media. In our family, 17 people tested positive to Covid-19 almost at the same time,” she explained.

“I had to read her a book from a distance and we had to comply with the restrictions even when we were all living in one house. We walked around with sanitisers and cleaned everything we touched. To explain the impact of the pandemic, I made her watch a programme dedicated to explain Covid-19 to kids,” she said.

Deléne is the owner of Design by D Graphic Studio. She said with all the challenges she faced her business did not suffer.

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“I had work to do everyday during lockdown, and by the time I tested positive it was the Christmas holidays.”

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Mother’s Day will be celebrated on May 9.