It was Daughter’s Day and 73-year-old Salai Vijayan’s mobile was flooded with messages about daughters, forwarded by family and friends. He was touched by one message and when he tried to send it to his daughter, he found himself out of his depth.
At 73, memory can fail you badly. For, he had learnt how to use the send/forward/delete messages, besides other mobile functions, at a recent workshop organised by Senior Citizen’s Support Forum. Racking his brain, he remembered the steps and forwarded the message. Not only that, he also managed to identify the one who sent the message — it was his friend. The Senior Citizen’s Support Forum recently started these workshops, free of cost, exclusively for senior citizens to help them access basic applications on smartphones independently. The classes are organised in two phases, spread over a period of four weeks. There will be two trainers per session. Each trainer is allotted not more than three people a day. The trial phase, which started in Gandhi Nagar with 20 participants, will be extended to other areas, which include Velachery, Kasturibai Nagar, Mylapore and Sastri Nagar. “Though everybody has a smartphone these days, senior citizens find it challenging to use its features optimally. We wanted to help them understand basic applications like setting an alarm and sending a photo on WhatsApp and also perform advanced procedures like e-booking train tickets and paying bills online,” explains R. Subharaj, secretary of the forum. For Salai Vijayan, a resident of ECR, it was crucial to familiarise himself with WhatsApp and Facebook for purpose of connectivity.
“When I travel across the world with my grandchildren, I would want to stay in touch with my wife back in India. Besides, internationally, app-based calls are easier and more effective,” he says. “I’m much more confident about handling my phone now. A grasp of the basic knowledge and operation of social media apps has helped me connect with my old friends as well.”
According to the trainers, many senior citizens express their interest in learning how to video-chat and use messaging apps to talk to their grandchildren who live abroad.
“In the first week, we teach them how to use all in-built applications on their phone.
“Next week, we have review classes where all doubts are attended to. In the third week, if they are satisfied, we move on to phase 2, where we teach them tougher concepts of online shopping, SOS settings, browsing websites et al,” said Mahalakshmi N., one of the trainers and a computer science graduate.
Durai Babu, a 58-year-old trainee from George Town, says, “Making and receiving calls isn’t sufficient any more. When our families are abroad, virtual experience is the closest we can attain. So mastering our smartphones is crucial.”
For more details, contact R. Subharaj at 9444455872.
Other initiatives
* Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan has been offering computer classes for senior citizens for the last 10 years. Classes
are held four times a year at its Mylapore and T.Nagar centres. The next batch starts in February.
Contact: 2464 3420
* Nandini Voice For The Deprived , which has been offering the programme since 2001, trains senior citizens in basic computer operations. It currently has a batch running at Korattur. Contact: 24916037/ 24914137
* Rajaji Centre for Public Affairs , Nanganallur, in co-ordination with Help Age India, recently conducted a free training programme on usage of smartphones for senior-citizens. Its next batch, organised by Tamil Nadu Brahmin Association, will begin on January 8.
Contact: 98846 32102/ 93802 22956
