 |
|
|
SILVER PEERS ~ WHO ARE WE ? ( or " ELSIE's " story ! ) " What we do is less than a drop in the ocean. But if it were missing, the ocean would lack something." Mother Teresa (1910 - 1997) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ By reading this section you are either displaying curiosity or genuine interest in our work. Let's hope it is the latter! The inspiration for this web site came via a chance meeting with a Nursing Home Resident in Brisbane in June 2002. The challenge was there all the time but circumstances prevented this idea to become reality until now - September 2005. Being of advancing age myself, I thought that computers could become a great tool for 'Cyber Diversional Therapy' if more mature people had access to a computer and became acquainted with their basic functions. I decided that I would like to teach some mature people how to operate computers. I searched for Retirement villages and Nursing Homes who were willing to provide at least one computer for 1 - 2 hrs per week. It wasn't easy to obtain permission from the owners despite the facts that I was offering basic computer lessons for no fees at all. Finding willing 'pupils' was even more difficult. However, once the 'students' had actually sat in front of a screen and clicked a mouse button it became all systems go! This is where "Elsie" (not her real name) made her very first appearance. She was
83 years of age and had no close relatives in Queensland. Her husband had passed
away some 12 years ago, and "Elsie" had resigned herself to just sit and wait
for the inevitable day in the future. "Elsie" was physically in very good shape,
but her mind had been inactive for so long that despite the lights being clearly
visible, there seemed to be no one home! She had seen computers on TV and
in the office but never had sat in front of a screen. In addition to this young
lady there were six other residents in the home who also showed some interest. After explaining in lay terms how computers work and what could be achieved with them, the interest amongst these 'students' grew dramatically. Following a further two by 1 hour sessions we progressed to actually using a computer. Well, the eyes of all seven dedicated 'students' just did not believe what they were seeing. The interest rose rapidly and it was necessary to allocate usage time in order that each student could experience at least a few minutes surfing on the net during our limited time. When I returned for my fourth session, I saw seven very eager nursing home residents standing at the door waiting for me, and guess who was first in line? "Elsie"! She really had taken to computers and was all eager to buy one then and there. In fact she asked me to teach her extra lessons so she could learn faster than the others. "Elsie" had transformed within three weeks from a totally disinterested person to a 'computer nerd'! She used to sneak up to the office during the day and asked if she could use one of their computers for a few minutes. Minutes turned into hours, according to the staff, and everybody commented how "Elsie" was progressing and how well she was looking. Her eyes were alive again and she would talk about computers all day long. Her son who lived in WA donated the cash so we could buy "Elsie" her own computer. It wasn't long after her first extra lesson that she wrote e-mails and surfed the net on her own on a daily basis. It made me feel proud because she was experiencing another chance at being alive. She even got to the stage were she was showing the other six students how to download programs and run virus checks. "Elsie" wanted to write her own web pages one day, telling everybody how she conquered computers at her age. Sadly, "Elsie" perished in a road accident in late 2003 and never got to write her story. "Silverpeers" has been compiled in memory of "Elsie", and all the other "Elsie's" or "Eric's" who would enjoy a few more useful years of mental activity with the use of a computer and the ability to operate one. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ . It is my belief that many aging people are practically wasting away in a lonely and boring environment, and only a handful of caring relatives, friends and staff show any interest in their well-being at all. Frequently, their mental capacity has not been utilised for many years, and hence they are frustrated and disillusioned and often give up on life far too early. These pages will require visitors to get involved and interact with each other by writing letters, thinking of solutions and participating in debates. Hopefully, by providing some "Cyber Diversional Therapy ", it may be possible to re-activate the interest of many people by stimulating activity. It may not be the best available therapy but I do know that it can work. I can only offer a small percentage of my time and money to keep this site alive, and therefore any assistance you can provide will be gratefully accepted and acknowledged. Your willingness to promote this website at any opportunity, perhaps contribute with your knowledge, make a small donation and/or advertise your business on our pages (rates are extremely competitive) would be absolutely wonderful. A larger number of visitors will increase the interaction between participants, and afford more opportunities to enhance the lives of a very sizeable percentage of mature and silver-haired Australians. I would be extremely proud if I could add just one more happy "Elsie" or "Eric" to our site every week. If you like what you have seen in our pages, then tell everybody ! If you don't like it, then please tell us! Thank you for dropping in and please have a nice day! |
