How students can adopt a grandparent
Initiative allows pupils zoom call with neglected senior citizens
They have never met but call each other ‘ grandpa’ or ‘ my child’. The emotional scenes take place during Zoom calls between students of a Dubai school and elderly people in India abandoned by their families.
It all began when Asmi Choudhary, a grade 11 student of GEMS Modern Academy, was left “infuriated” after seeing online a case about a man who had abused his parents, who eventually found safety at The Earth Saviours Foundation established by social worker Ravi Kalra in Gurgaon, a city in north India.
Determined to make a difference in their lives by lending emotional and moral support, Asmi founded the ‘ Adopt a Grandparent’ initiative at her school earlier this year. Since last month, around 165 students from grades nine to 12 have made some 330 Zoom calls with hundreds of senior citizens at the foundation. They have also donated around Rs71,460 ( around Dh3,570) so far to the foundation so its people can get medical help or meals, among other needs.
“Adopt a Grandparent aims at supporting someone’s life not only financially but also
emotionally,” Asmi said. Once a student signs up, one of the “core team” of six pupils managing the initiative sends him or her a Zoom link on Friday or Saturday when they are off school. The students are then placed into virtual breakout rooms with the ‘ grandparents’ for conversations lasting 10 to 15 minutes or longer.
‘ They have cried’
“The grandparents have been so touched, they have sometimes cried saying it feels like it’s their own child who wants to talk to them again. They have invited us to virtually join their birthday
parties and asked us to come visit themin real life when the [ Covid- 19 crisis] gets better, if possible,” Asmi said.
What do they talk about?
“Our conversations range from ‘ what did you eat for breakfast today’ to ‘ what animal would you like to become if you had the choice’.
“Recently, when our school principal [ Nargish Khambatta] spoke to them, she learnt about a new recipe. We learn about their hobbies; we sing for them. We ask them about their favourite season; their childhood memories. They love calling us ‘ beta’ [ my child] whereas
we call them ‘ dada’ or ‘ dadi’ [ grandparents]. We’ve made a rule that we avoid topics which would lead to them speaking about why they had to come to the foundation.”
On an individual level, each student commits just 10 to 15 minutes of his or her time for a monthly Zoom call on a weekend. The student who signs up for the initiative also makes a one- time donation of Dh23. Every week, collectively students fromone grade take part, followed by the next grade the following week, and so on. The next month, the cycle continues, starting with grade nine and endingwith grade 12.