To help others is also to help myself
Before we started this project, our goal was to help the elderly more in the trying times of Covid-19 pandemic. Through our discussion, we believed that teaching older people how to use smartphones should be a good way to help them feel connected to their friends and improve their quality of living. In addition, throughout the sessions, we hoped that we could enrich ourselves in teaching older people skills, and we also wanted to learn how to communicate better with elderly along the way. However, since our group did not have much experience teaching elderly how to use smartphones, we were not sure what to teach during each course and how much content we need to prepare for each course.
During the four sessions designed for the elderly, I believe that both Auntie Y and I gained a lot from it. I have seen auntie know her phone better, and her phone is no longer a tool simply for phone call. She can now play YouTube videos she likes, record happy moments using her phone camera and write down things she needs to do on notepad applications . The four sessions are not only the process of auntie getting to know her phone better, but also the process of us getting to know elderly better. As elderly might not be so familiar with their phone, we need to teach them step by step slowly and clearly so that she can understand and memorize. This is not such an easy thing and we may lose our patience sometimes. In this case, we need to understand that their learning speed is not that fast as us and they might not be very confident in learning unfamiliar things. Also, I need to wait for auntie a little when she does not understand and show her my support. By doing so, elderly will become more confident and more interested in learning new things. In addition, I want to thank blossom world staff for their kindness and help during the community service. They are experienced and provided us with many ideas. Overall, I have gained a lot from the program, and I am very happy to have these precious memories.
Submitted by Yilin
Yilin engaging the senior virtually with Jiahao
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