Article by Timothy Wan and Sarah-Ann
Storyblog by Euclea, Verlyn, Andrew and Natalie
Permeating most aspects of daily life, we often take for granted technology’s role and overlook the problems aplenty encountered by the elder generation who, unlike us, were not born into an era of already-advanced technology and digitalisation. Where would we be without our phones and laptops?
With the onset of the coronavirus pandemic and the various stay-home measures in place, 2020 has been a difficult period for us to meet and stay in touch with our loved ones. For those from the older generation, like Winnie, a participant of FILOs x BP befriending programmes, this lack of connection has been exacerbated by their struggle with using digital media to communicate.
Yet, it is precisely the social isolation and connection deficit during this period that makes communication and keeping in contact with others critical. Social connections are a primal human need. This makes them integral to not just our mental health, but our overall well-being.
With the struggle to use technology constituting a significant impediment to such connections, the USP Batch Project’s Groundwork initiative seeks to empower them to overcome these technical difficulties through virtual interactive sessions as well as information booklets to teach them on the usage of technology.
Beyond the act of assisting the elder generation, we also spotlight the heart of this entire Batch Project initiative: our community.
Within the Batch Project initiative, several USP students have taken on the role of befrienders and invested their time and effort to conduct calls with the elderly, the befriendees like Winnie, on a weekly basis. During these weekly calls, befrienders assist befriendees with navigating various technologies, with the intention of helping to alleviate their struggles.
One of the USP students involved in this Groundwork initiative is Ryan Ong, a freshman majoring in Computer Science. Recognising the need for Singaporeans to support one another in the midst of the pandemic, he set out to help “support and play a part in this effort,” he said, as well as to learn about the challenges fellow Singaporeans are facing in these difficult times.”
We recently sat down with Ryan and Winnie for an interview, to ask them how the groundwork sessions have been going so far. During the sessions, which ran from July to August this year, Ryan would aid his befriendee, Winnie, in the use of various forms of technology. This would range from teaching her how to make Zoom/Whatsapp calls to family members or scanning a QR code, to even playing a game of Scrabble on her phone.
Nonetheless, there were some potential obstacles to overcome. Before starting the sessions Ryan admitted that he had some concerns. “Meeting someone new,” he said, “you’re not sure what the other person will be like.” This was compounded by the fact that he was mainly fluent in English, while there were many non-English speaking befriendees, which could have led to difficulties in communication owing to a language barrier.
However, after stepping out and offering to help, he would soon discover: Winnie primarily spoke English as well! She, too, had faced concerns that she would not be able to communicate in Mandarin. It was a match well made.
Through the sessions, Ryan’s efforts have led to Winnie being able to better navigate the world of technology on her mobile phone. We are often prone to forget how vital a working knowledge of technology is to our daily life, and take it for granted. Something as simple as knowing how to scan a QR code can affect how easily you enter or exit a building, with new measures like SafeEntry that are evolving day by day. The sessions have better equipped her to carry out such essential functions.
Yet, they would not have been as fruitful if not for Winnie’s positive attitude and keenness towards learning. “Winnie has had a really good attitude towards learning technology,” Ryan said. “In other sessions, she’ll come up with her own questions and things that she’s interested in learning - that really drives the lessons.” Indeed, Winnie’s proactive learning attitude was evident during our interview where she emphasised the importance for her to practice the knowledge or skills she has learnt in order to retain the new information.
Likewise, Ryan’s amenable approach has also been central to Winnie’s learning. While much of the knowledge taught is second nature to us (digital natives that we are), it remains unfamiliar territory for many of the elderly. To accommodate this understandable gap, Ryan would teach her the knowledge in small, digestible portions. For learning the technology, “you just do it a bit [at a time] ... do it very slowly,” Winnie says. This allowed her to learn at a more manageable, engaging pace, which motivated her to continue learning.
Yet, what moved us most during the interview was Ryan’s commitment to the community. When we enquired what he would have hoped to achieve at the end of the groundwork session, Ryan replied, “In any way I can make Winnie’s life easier with regards to technology.” Turning to Winnie, he continues, “Even after the sessions are finished, you have my number and you can call me whenever.”
That left an indelible impression, reminding us of the heart of this entire Batch Project initiative which is centred on the community itself and the people who form it. More than just enabling the elderly to better understand and use technology, Ryan’s words have spotlighted the importance of making ourselves present and available to the people around us wherever we are needed.
It doesn’t take any special skills or abilities to help our neighbour. All it takes is an awareness of the needs of those in our community, especially those who lack what we have, and making ourselves available to them.
Comentarios