Two years ago this week, the world was catapulted into a new way of living.
As the first cases of Covid-19 were detected in Northern Ireland, the Executive's daily media briefings on a virtual platform became the norm for the population.
And as the pandemic brought waves of heartache across families, there was one theme which shone through - togetherness.
Read more: Stories that showed the best of Northern Ireland's young people in 2021
Community halls, churches, football changing rooms and kitchen floors were turned into food parcel packing zones, young people stepped up to the call for volunteers and any differences people may have had, were set aside.
Belfast man's sticker campaign raises thousands for the NHS
Sam McClean would describe himself as an ordinary working class man, enjoying his business which puts food on the table for his young family.
But to his community, Sam is a lockdown hero.
Hailing from the Greater Shankill area, the 47-year-old began to print balloon shaped stickers to raise enough money to buy two ventilators for a local hospital.
Fast forward two years, Sam's efforts have raised over £100,000 for the NHS, attracting praise from the Prime Minister Boris Johnson, NI Secretary of State Brandon Lewis and Princess Anne.
Among those who benefited from Sam's efforts were:
· £10,000 for the Air Ambulance NI
· £10,000 for the RCN Foundation
· £5,000 for Aware NI
· £5,000 for Community Rescue Service
· £5,000 for St John Ambulance NI
· £18,000 for PPE for care homes across Northern Ireland
· £5,000 for Marie Curie NI
· £5,000 for Northern Ireland Children's Hospice
Speaking to Belfast Live this week, Sam said: "At the very start of the pandemic, I decided to make a wee balloon as a bit of a joke for my wife's car. From there we sold them and raised money for the NHS.
"That first week, we raised £22,000. After that, it was crazy - we had 1,300 requests for balloons overnight.
"I am so proud. Not just of myself but everybody else too. Both communities came together during Covid to do this.
"Yes, it may have been my idea but I could never have done this without the help of others."
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: "Sam has dressed the windows of Belfast with rainbows, imbuing us with hope and uniting us in gratitude for the courage of all those on the front line who are risking their lives to save others.
"He has raised a fantastic amount to support NHS charities and I am delighted to recognise his service to others."
Brandon Lewis said: "I am delighted that Sam has been commended for his hard work by the Prime Minister. His efforts will make a real difference for charities and community groups across Northern Ireland, and he’s a great example of how people can make a positive contribution to their communities during Covid-19."
Young people proved their worth
Often the spotlight on young people is negative, with bad news spreading faster than the good.
But during the pandemic, children and young adults were at the front of the community response and a friendly face to those who needed a smile.
Youth groups, known for their leadership and resilience, moved quickly to adapt their way of work and engagement and while it was tough for most to live in a virtual world, the day they were told they could meet face-to-face again was "the best day ever".
R-CITY, based in the heart of the Shankill, does work throughout the year with young people from Ardoyne to Ballysillan and in between.
The pandemic saw these young people take charge and organise food parcels and ways to give back to those risking their lives on the front line.
Shonagh Toner said: "The first few weeks were great and we doing things as normal as we could. Then three of four weeks in we thought 'no, we need to do something more'. We wanted to get the young people a bit more energised and feel like they are giving back because they were so used to doing that before Covid.
"We supported the NHS with the coffee shop going to the Mater Hospital, food packs for those in need of that support and we also made up wellbeing packs for the young people.
"Those packs were made up of things for stress and anxiety because it was a time where people's emotions were heightened.
"Over the last two years, communities really did come together. It has showed that everybody is there for one another and will get behind each other for support.
"In lockdown, everybody had something in common. That brought communities together."
Communities Minister humbled by Covid-19 response
Deirdre Hargey came into the role as Communities Minister in January 2020.
Unbeknown to Ms Hargey, she would soon be thrown into a pandemic, with people most vulnerable at even higher risk than usual.
The Communities Minister sat down with Belfast Live this week, to reflect on her role both as Minister and as a community representative and activist.
"Looking back, at that stage you couldn't have foreseen the magnitude of change that was going to happen overnight with lockdown beginning to happen," Minister Hargey said.
"Very quickly I had got in place an emergency leadership group knowing that the pandemic was going to impact people at grassroots and in communities. I wanted to bring community leaders together from the grassroots but also regional organisations that support that work.
"At the outset we established that emergency leadership group. I have to say, they have been excellent in working with the department, working with me and the staff teams in really shaping programmes that were going to meet the needs of residents living in our communities across the board.
"Issues around food, which was one of the big areas, when we knew that lockdown was coming, when we knew there would be vulnerable groupings being advised by the Department of Health not to leave their homes and to isolate. Access to food became a critical issue."
Speaking with pride at the community responses that were evident across Northern Ireland, Minister Hargey said she is heartened at how quickly people came forward to help.
"It wouldn't have been done without the role of the community and voluntary sector with the hundreds if not thousands of volunteers that were in community centres and church halls, in sports grounds and physically packing boxes of food and making sure that they were being delivered to people's homes.
"It was a huge change in such a short period of time, but wouldn't have been able to do it without the help of all those community heroes that really dug in, got dirty and got involved to really meet the needs of people who lived in and around them.
"I am a community activist and have done it my whole life and I think it was humbling because as Minister you are there to set policy and make a difference, particularly in response to a health pandemic, but it was those every day steps of actually going to your local community centre, packing food boxes, getting the list of names of those who had to isolate and really delivering that services to the doors."
Video by Belfast Live videographer Harry Bateman.
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