To mark Long Covid Awareness Month, Mariam organised a bake sale and delivered a powerful assembly to raise awareness about Long Covid and other invisible illnesses. Drawing on personal experience, Mariam reflects on the importance of understanding conditions that are not always visible, and the impact that compassion and awareness can have within a school community.
As part of Long Covid Awareness Month, I organised a bake sale and delivered an assembly to raise awareness about Long Covid, as well as other invisible illnesses. As someone living with Long Covid, this is a cause that felt extremely important to me, not only to share my own experiences, but because I know that there are many young people struggling with hidden health conditions that are often misunderstood.
Long Covid is still something that many people don’t fully understand, especially when it affects children and teenagers. Since being diagnosed myself, I have realised how difficult it can be living with a condition that other people cannot physically see. Symptoms such as fatigue and brain fog can have a huge impact on everyday life, while remaining invisible from the outside. I wanted to use the assembly as an opportunity to speak honestly about those experiences to encourage more empathy and understanding within the school community.
During the assembly, I spoke about the reality of living with Long Covid as a young person, including the unpredictability of symptoms, the pressure of trying to keep up with everyday life and the emotional impact of feeling misunderstood. Although the speech was personal, I also wanted it to reflect the experiences of many people living with invisible illnesses, not just Long Covid. One of the main messages of the assembly was that just because someone, ‘looks fine’, it doesn’t always mean that they are okay.
The support that I received from my teachers and the pastoral team has also been so important. Having people within school who listen, encourage me and helped to make the event possible,made a huge difference. I am also incredibly grateful to my friends who helped me organise the bake sale and supported me throughout the day, and to the teachers who helped bake for the bake sale, as their support and generosity played a huge part in making the event such a success.
The charity we raised money for, Long Covid Kids, also kindly supported the event by providing T-shirts for us all to wear, which helped make the bake sale and assembly feel more united and meaningful. Seeing people come together in support of the cause made the experience feel incredibly powerful.
The bake sale completely sold out within three minutes, which honestly surprised me and reminded me, just how supportive the school community is. We sold just over 300 donuts, and as I’m writing this, we still haven’t received the exact final total, but we have already raised over £600 for Long Covid Kids! It was great to see students and staff supporting the event, whether through donations, conversations or simply just taking the time to listen and engage with the topic.
One of the most significant parts of the experience was hearing from people afterwards who also live with chronic illnesses or invisible conditions. Some people reached out to me to share their own experiences, and they said that they related to many parts of the assembly, which reminded me how many people quietly deal with challenges that others may not see. Knowing that the assembly helped people feel understood or less alone made the whole experience even more worthwhile.
Organising all of this was a very rewarding experience for me. It gave me the opportunity to turn something difficult into something positive by starting conversations and encouraging greater compassion for people living with invisible illnesses. I hope the event helped people realise how important empathy, patience and kindness can be, especially when someone’s struggles aren’t immediately visible.
By Mariam, Year 10 Student
