When people grow older, they may have to live on their own, usually when their children have grown up and moved out of home or when one has lost a partner. It is very challenging to remain socially active when one is getting older and so many older people gradually become isolated from society and start to feel left aside and lonely. Isolation and loneliness are detrimental to the well-being of people. Noviha UK addresses these issues by running day-facilities at The Unity Centre of South London in Balham to promote social inclusion for members of the local community. Exercise and health education classes are included in the activities. Volunteers also run a befriending service where the elderly are checked on to find out how they are doing and to offer any needed support. They are also encouraged, if they are able, to join our computer class for the elderly which will avail them of more social interaction.

This is Noviha UK’s flagship project that helps elderly people gain skills which are indispensable in modern-day living. ICT tutors empower a class of 20 elderly people, every week to learn or improve on the use of computers, tablets and mobile phones for practical chores and digital tasks at levels which are useful to them. Students are taught to be familiar with basic hardware and software in computers and other mobile devices. They learn to produce and work with digital documents in the common multimedia file types or formats (office-documents, images, music or movie file types). They learn to be conversant with important computer tools like web browsers and email clients and how to use them for accessing, or setting up accounts with service providers for email, government & council, banks, shops, airline & other travel services for their real-life needs. In addition to email, the use of other communication applications like WhatsApp and Zoom are taught for keeping in instant touch with family and friends, a very important social need for the well-being of older people. In-person classes have been on hold because of the Covid pandemic. Classes are currently held on Zoom, 1pm to 4pm every Wednesday.