Immigrant Services Calgary’s Community Initiatives for Immigrant Seniors Program celebrated the end of an 8-week inter-generational project called Tell Me Your Story with a party.
The seniors were paired up with technically savvy youth volunteers who helped them use PowerPoint to document stories about themselves, their homeland and settling in Canada. Audiences heard stories from Pakistan, India, Yemen and Korea. As the weeks progressed, youth volunteers and seniors exchanged ideas, stories and developed a mutual understanding of one another. The seniors not only improved their computer skills but for many of them, this was their first public speaking opportunity.
The themes of their projects included dreams, travel, hope and establishing a new beginning. One senior in particular had a presentation called “Station of My Life” where she compared her life in India with her experiences in Canada. For her, it is the old and newfound friendships that give her life meaning.
The final projects will be exhibited during our National Seniors Day Celebration on Friday September 29, 2017.
