We’ve described here our work to help senior citizens keep a safe house, especially during the coronavirus crisis. While before we concentrated on Jerusalem, this new situation has also enabled us to help seniors all over Israel. One example is the group of Ethiopian senior citizens, being helped by a university student of Ethiopian descent.
Living Safer, Living Longer via the telephone
University student volunteers were recruited during the lockdown of March – April, to make contact with seniors by telephone, first to make sure they were OK, and then to see if they’d like to make sure their homes were safe. The student volunteers were and continue to be a critically important part of the project, since they are in continual direct contact with the seniors over the phone.
One of the student volunteers is of Ethiopian origin, part of a Young Olim Leadership group that underwent training in guiding senior citizens over the phone in making their house safer.
After the training he decided to establish an Amharic-language group for senior citizens of Ethiopian origin, from Or Yehuda and Lod. There are 22 seniors in his group. Although the training and all the explanatory materials are only in Hebrew, he speaks with them in Amharic and goes through each room of the house, making sure each is safe. Each time he covers a different room.
