The powerful stories of how injured veterans tackled adversity are helping children to cope with the pressures of lockdown during the COVID-19 crisis.
The Making Generation R programme of workshops, created by Blesma, the limbless veterans’ charity, has been made available for free as a digital resource for schools. It features 30 veterans talking about their experiences and is designed to help young people aged 11-18 manage their anxiety and develop coping strategies.
The veterans have filmed themselves at home and their testimonies are accompanied by exercises that explore adversity and self-esteem. Participants include former Royal Engineer Josh Boggi, who won five Invictus Games medals after becoming a triple amputee aged just 23 in an IED blast while serving in Afghanistan.
Blesma’s operations director, Ian Waller, says: “Our members are empowered by using their personal stories of how they overcame life-changing injuries and dark days. This resource is much needed during these tough times and we hope that as many schools as possible take advantage of it.”
Mat Armitage, an amputee veteran and Making Generation R speaker, adds: “By listening to the stories you’ll learn about what it means to be resilient and how we can use resilience to overcome the adversities we may face in our lives. Millions of people have experienced adversity as a result of the coronavirus. Many of us haven’t been able to visit loved ones, go to school or hang out with our friends. It has been a really challenging time.”
For further information, visit makinggenerationr.com