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October 28, 2009
Seniors Learning to Use the Computer
For most persons, retirement is a time for relaxation, after years of contributing to the development of the country. However, for some it's a time to learn a new skill or to further their education.
In an interview with JIS News, Parish Organiser for the National Council for Senior Citizens (NCSC) in Manchester, Mrs. Estella Dyer-Crawford, says that senior citizens are valuable assets, and programmes have been developed to expose them to skills they can apply in their daily lives.
"Our seniors here in Manchester go to the parish library where they get basic training in computer skills. We also have the National Council for Senior Citizens' Competitions and we have the Spelling Bee competition. The programmes are geared for our seniors to expose their knowledge and interact with the younger persons and to be useful citizens in society," she says.
Recently, some 19 senior citizens graduated from a computer course offered by the Manchester Parish Library, and Mrs. Dyer-Crawford notes that it was well received by community members, especially the elderly.
"I realise that with the library, they get there before 9 o'clock and some of the seniors report that when they go back home, their grandchildren actually help them with the Spelling Bee. So, what is happening is that they have this relationship with the youngsters, a sort of bonding, and now are able to move along with the changes when we have them involved in all these educational programmes," she tells JIS News.
"They were excited about it, with a few asking, can I manage? They were willing to go and try, because as seniors you do not want to be left out. Nobody is writing letters now and they need to hear from the children and other members of the family who are abroad. Some of the grandchildren have bought their grandparents computers, so that they can correspond with them," she adds.
The 19 senior citizens were presented with certificates of participation at a ceremony, which was held on September 15, at the Mandeville Parish Church Hall, in Manchester.
Mr. Glenford Bromfield and his wife, Laura, are senior citizens who have grasped the opportunity offered by the Manchester Parish Library to learn something new about the computer. They were introduced to basic computer skills, which they now use to communicate with their children abroad.
"We heard about it through the senior citizen movement and we volunteered to join the classes. I was very impressed after I went to the library and saw what they were doing. A lot of the people were younger than I, and it seems as if it was just another going back to school (activity)," Mr. Bromfield says.
"It was really exciting until the time of graduation. I am hoping that I could go further, but lightening hit my laptop, but if the library could give us further courses or even if somebody has to contribute towards it, I would be very appreciative of it," he adds.
Mr. Bromfield says other senior citizens should use the opportunities given to them to learn something new.
"I think it would help some persons, and some have already done that. I think you should go back to get further training and further experience. I am just excited about this programme and I never know that people of our age would be excited about something like the computer. But we have learnt now and have seen that it is the thing of the day, so we should learn as much as we can," he says.