Docomo marks COVID-19 anniversary with message

The Rise Together Banner is displayed at Docomo Pacific’s headquarters in Tamuning, Guam. Artwork by local artist Joshua Agerstrand. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

TAMUNING, Guam—Docomo Pacific commemorates the anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic with a special campaign called “Rise Together,” part of which is the display of a Rise Together Banner at the company’s headquarters in Tamuning, Guam.

Created by local artist Joshua Agerstrand, he said the team at Docomo Pacific reached out to him to create portraits of frontline workers for a thank you and support campaign encouraging residents to “Rise Together.”

“I was excited as well as nervous to work on this project and to speak about our frontline workers and first responders. It was a big responsibility to create work that reflects on what was such a difficult time for many of us in the Marianas.

“After creating images to represent our amazing medical front-liners, I had to reflect on what other icons could represent the sacrifice and hard work of our community. I thought about who I saw everyday last year. I thought of the grocery store worker who served their community during the most uncertain and chaotic times of the pandemic and to our postal workers delivering us our essential and non-essential items to keep us sane and help us feel safe during our long stretches of working from home.

“These images represent all of the strong people who never stopped working for the community, for everyone who kept the lights on, kept us fed, kept us safe and gave us hope that we were [going to] make it through this together. To me this year felt like a long aftermath from a typhoon, where our community came together, arm in arm and helped each other weather one of our biggest storms,” he said.

In a statement about the campaign, Docomo Pacific said: “Last March, the coronavirus outbreak reached pandemic level. The virus threatened our community and lockdowns defined life in Guam and the CNMI. 2020 was a year of upheaval, loss, and constant change. One year later, as we enter a new era of hope, we recount our shared experiences and honor those who help us Rise Together.

“Rooted in the Inafa’maolek spirit, Docomo Pacific stands with our frontline workers committed to keeping us safe. From the medical staff that nurse our sick, to all the hardworking people who bravely kept our community going during the pandemic. The Marianas had the courage to adjust their daily lives to this new norm; using technology more and more through remote working and online learning.

“Today we remember, that in every battle, there is someone who makes us stronger. Fanohge Marianas!” (PR)