Students Bring Smiles to Lonely Old Folks

 

A volunteer sitting with a resident of the Voronovo nursing home outside Moscow on a recent visit to the home by the group Old Age for Joy. Besides periodically dropping by area nursing homes, some of the group's members also act as pen pals to bring another voice into the residents' often-lonely lives. The Voronovo home houses 25 people, most of whom never receive visits from relatives.

A resident of the Voronovo nursing home, located 30 kilometers outside Moscow, with a member of Old Age for Joy, a group that organizes volunteers to spend time with elderly people as well as collects donations for things like adult diapers, beds and wheelchairs. The organization was created two years ago by Moscow State University student Liza Oleskina. "What they need most is attention," said Oleskina.     A volunteer offering a Voronovo nursing home resident a candy on a recent visit. Most of the home's residents are partially or fully paralyzed, and many lie silently in their beds, sleeping or staring emptily at nothing in particular.      A volunteer from the group Old Age for Joy speaking with a resident of the Voronovo nursing home on a recent visit. In September, the organization created a web site, Starikam.ru, to attract more volunteers and sponsors. The web site announces the dates of nursing home visits and posts pictures and information about elderly residents in need of a friend or pen pal.   A volunteer from Old Age for Joy sharing a meal with a resident of the Voronovo nursing home on a recent visit to the home by the group                   A volunteer from Old Age for Joy offering food to a resident of the Voronovo nursing home on a recent visit to the home by the group.