BISHOP COTTON GIRLS’ SCHOOL

SUPW PROJECT

AYAT SHEIKH
XII COMMERCE
 how i helped the elderly during covid-19

It was just another weekend when I heard the news about

Covid-19, and that two-week break turned into almost two
years of quarantine. It was normal to procrastinate and
feel unproductive during the lockdown phase, it affected
the whole world physically as well as mentally. In such a
state of despair and gloom everyone needed help on
different levels, but reaching out and helping people was
going to be a difficult task due to social distancing and
many other restrictions.

They say help starts at home, and it was very much

applicable to the times we all were facing. I couldn’t get
out of my house, so I took the initiative within my house
and started helping my family. Older people are
discontented with new forms of technology and are widely
believed to be more reluctant to use technology than
younger people. This belief often penalizes older people
because designers do not consider them a potential user
group when designing both software and hardware
technologies. My grandparents were staying with me and I
realised they were very out of touch with technology. They
did have advanced technological devices such as iPhones
and iPads, but the problem was that they weren’t sure how
to make the best use of them. I knew I needed to help this
older generation, who missed the technology boom
They already knew the primary function of a phone, like
making and picking up calls. so the first thing I started
with was “WhatsApp”, though they were aware of very
basic chatting, I taught them how to forward messages,
send pictures and record voice notes. My grandfather was
glad now that he could connect better with his clients, it
was easier for him to communicate and get information
quickly. My grandmother was quite excited because she
was able to get in touch with her old friends and now she
even has a group for them.

The next thing I taught them was about the internet. They
did know how to search on the Google search engine. I
introduced them to Social Media, my grandmother now
has an Instagram account, and she follows and supports
my poetry account! She follows many of her interests like;
cooking pages, religious pages, and art pages. It’s like she’s
found her niche. I showed my grandfather the music app,
and he was really happy to learn that he could still listen to
his generation’s songs. He loves listening to them, and now
he plays them out loud. I helped them around with
YouTube and its features, and now they have subscribed to
their favourite channels.

Other things I taught them include; Installing and deleting

apps. The most important thing they learned about was
online payment. I installed GooglePay on their phones and
taught them about the easy ways of cashless payment, they
were pretty amused to know that we can make
transactions without any sort of paper. This helped them
make payments faster.

After introducing them to everything, I created a

WhatsApp group which included all the senior citizens. My
grandparent's video called them and tried to pass on the
information I had given them. I set up a Zoom meeting for
them to connect virtually as they could not meet in real
due to covid restrains. I set up a group chat and shared
important information with YouTube video links about
How to control Diabetes, How to give chest compressions
when someone requires them. All the senior citizens are of
age above sixty. I helped them find channels and pages
that are helping them with their health and well-being.

New technology can be overwhelming for us, I wonder how

hard it was on them, yet they had the perseverance and
kept learning, trying to learn new things. They were eager
to learn even, If they can learn something from a whole
new generation, we can do that too!

I was really satisfied after I had helped them get in touch

with newer technology, and they all thanked me for it, It
was an amazing experience. It is awesome how we learn so
much from the elderly and they too learn from the younger
ones. Serving, and reaching out in lockdown was intense
for all of us, we all found ways to stay sane, keep spreading
positivity and help everyone around us, this was my way to
do the same.