Instagram Account Shares Stories Of Overcoming Coronavirus

HERNDON, VA — When the coronavirus pandemic hit, Debjani Sarkar of Herndon wanted to create an awareness of how challenging and unusual the times were.

"What I wanted to do was create a platform to share stories around the world about what's going on, about how life is impacted during this pandemic, during our quarantine and lockdown," she said. "How we're overcoming these challenges."

The idea for the platform came to Sarkar after Gov. Ralph Northam issued his stay-at-home order and families across Virginia found themselves staying home from work and school.

"When all this started, we got locked down at home, just listening to radio, watching TV, watching news, reading news," she said. "It just dawned on me that we're living with all these numbers of people being affected, people dying right here in the United States and abroad. But little do we know how it's actually touching the lives, how it's impacting the families, and how people are actually living through these times."

On Memorial Day, Sarkar launched Stories from the Front Lines, an Instagram account highlighting how front line workers in areas like health care were responding to the pandemic.

Initially, Sarkar reached out to doctors and nurses she saw posting online, asking them if they wanted to add their stories to her platform.

"They were very grateful," she said. "They sent me very nice messages, for even showing an interest in what's going on."

In one Instagram post shared on Stories from the Front Lines, Rachel Simon, a certified nursing assistant, talked about what it was like serving in the front lines during a global crisis.

"My nose hurts, I have a constant bruise on the bridge, but I wouldn't change it for the world," she said. "I'm proud to be on the frontline, I'm proud to support my team, but most importantly I'm proud to serve my community of patients who are terrified."

Before long, health care workers from the Middle East, Asia, Europe, and South American began sharing their experiences on the Stories from the Front Lines Instagram feed.

One post talked about how the Borangile village in Bangladesh was dealing with food shortages due to the pandemic and another highlighted how an indigenous community called San Juan Ostuncalco in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, was hosting COVID-19 prevention workshops.

"What's surprised me is that so many people in so much adverse conditions that they are rising above and doing so much, not just for themselves but for their community and friends and family, and even strangers," she said.

Although Sarkar would like to expand Stories from the Frontlines, she can only work on it in her free time, when she's not working as the director of engineering for Nuance Communications in Reston.

People can contribute stories to the platform by direct messaging Sarkar on Instagram at @storiesfromthefrontlines or tagging posts: #storiesfromthefrontlines.

"Any story that shows how life has been impacted during this unusual time by this COVID pandemic and what we have done to deal with it," she said. "My goal is to make this platform available for anyone to write their story, share their story, meet others, and get inspired. That's all."