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Lockdown has not been kind to many, but a six-year-old girl in Gulf Harbour has been doing her best to keep people’s spirits up by writing ‘kindness letters’.
Isobel (Bel) Martinez took the Prime Minister’s ‘be kind’ message to heart – her school, Wentworth Primary, also spread the ‘be kind’ message.
In lockdown last year, Bel says she missed her friends and began writing to them.
“I said ‘I’m missing you lots, hope you’re having a wonderful lockdown’,” Bel says.
This year in lockdown, she began writing even more, and drawing pictures, for essential workers, local businesses, her teachers and neighbours. She also sent a kindness letter to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
Replies began to come in and older neighbours left treats for Bel in her letterbox.
“The Police put her letter on their staff noticeboard, and quite a few people wrote back, including the Prime Minister,” Bel’s mother, Sam says. “Bel’s father is an essential worker, so there’s just the two of us at home. This is her way of keeping in touch, as well as Zoom.”
Sam says because not many people write letters anymore, older neighbours in particular loved getting the letters and writing back.
She says letter-writing also helped Bel mentally – “it’s hard on children not being able to socialise,” she says.
Bel also played guitar from across the road so neighbours could come outside to enjoy it.
She hopes that more people will write take up a pen and write kindness letters.
“I will keep it going and never stop,” Bel says.
