New Hope Global has successfully received an award from Ladywood NNS for an exciting project "Virtual Intervention for Tackling Loneliness. Since the outbreak of coronavirus, our community programmes came to a halt. So, we have planned this programme to keep our older beneficiaries active and free of social isolation and loneliness through The Digital Befriending interventions service. 

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Our digital programme will be a new initiative and first of its kind. We will communicate with our beneficiaries who require this service and subsequently provide a demonstration of how to use the gadgets or laptops to get connected to receive our service. The methods of digital connection will be explained in terms of online activities such as playing games, arts and crafts, watching documentaries or movies of their choice, chatting and sharing current government announcements on social distancing and staying safe, updating news from around the country and world etc. We will also offer light physical exercise and any other help such as shopping or collecting medications on their behalf. 

 

In this project, we are planning to hold six sessions twice a week with our beneficiaries totalling about ninety sessions during the nine-month of the project period. Our project coordinator, sessional staff and four virtual assistants will be conducting the sessions. Each session will engage five beneficiaries with virtual communication and online activities each day. We are expecting sixty beneficiaries to receive the service from the project directly. Our volunteers will support with shopping and other external activities for six days during the project period.

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This project will introduce a new platform among the community members where the older people will be able to participate and enjoy physical activity without breaking the social distancing rules

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