Alefiya Presswala

Tell me your name, your age and the Friends Group that you volunteer with.

Samira Abu

My name is Samira Abu. I’m 25 years old, and I’m part of the Friends of Aspen Court.

Alefiya Presswala

What first inspired you to get involved with the Friends group?

Samira Abu

I think what inspired me was I was working for Friends of Attend, and it was a really fun placement while I was there. And so once I finished my placement year, I thought carrying on with the team by doing the Friends of Aspen Court would be a fun thing to do.

Alefiya Presswala

When did you join the Friends group?

Samira Abu

I joined back in 2022, so it’s been a little while now. 

Alefiya Presswala

What did you do? And what do you do while volunteering with the Friends?

Samira Abu

So when working with Attend, I was working more on the activity side. I was arranging activities, emailing a bunch of people, all the fun stuff, and I got – I had a chance to engage in some of the activities that I was arranging. Now that I’m doing Friends of Aspen Court, it’s more coming in during coffee mornings and having a chat with the residents and just hanging out with them.

Alefiya Presswala

How do you feel when you volunteer, what impact do you feel like you are making?

Samira Abu

I feel like when I volunteer, it just gets me in a good mood for the rest of the day. It gives me a chance to talk to people that may not always have people to talk to, and it’s always fun getting to know some of the residents.

Alefiya Presswala 

What impact do you think you’re making? What impact is volunteering making on you?

Samira Abu

I think the impact I hope I’m making is just bringing some joy to some of the residents, and I think the impact it’s having on me is that it makes me think of other things I can do with my free time to help others, and just getting me to do more for the community. 

Alefiya Presswala 

Do you have a favourite memory with the Friends group?

Samira Abu

I think one of my favourite memories is there was one resident who didn’t really speak the greatest English, and just her being able to talk and giving her the space to talk. She told me a lot of stories about her life and everything that she’d been up to, and it was just fun getting to know someone that I may not have talked to otherwise. 

Alefiya Presswala 

Do you have any other fun or special stories to share in that same type of vein?

Samira Abu

I think it’s just a lot of getting to know people’s stories and getting to know them at a deeper level that I otherwise would not have known, and all the interesting things that they’ve been up to before being here, and it’s just so interesting to get to know what they’ve been doing.

Alefiya Presswala 

Do you think there is still a need for the community to support hospitals? 

Samira Abu 

Community help is always important. If there’s no community help, it’s quite a struggle to get anything done. I mean, it is quite a financial burden if you just rely on salaried workers. Getting the community to come in and just talk to people and provide a care that is often unseen. So when I work in the hospital, there’s lots of volunteers that work there, and so having people come in and being able to talk to some of the residents that require extra support or extra social need that they’re not getting is very important. Yes, community support is always needed. 

Alefiya Presswala 

In the four years that you’ve been volunteering with the friends group, is it different today? has it changed in any way? 

Samira Abu

 It’s not really changed too much, but I think it’s just seeing people that come in month after month, and seeing how much they enjoy coming month after month is such a great thing to see. 

 

Alefiya Presswala

What would you say to encourage people to get involved today / why should people get involved?

Samira Abu

I feel like I’d say: just give it a chance, and you never know who you’re going to be meeting and what interesting things they have to say. I think the reason people should get involved is that it’s just a good way to give back to the community. If you had family members in a care home, you’d want people to come and have a conversation with them. You’d want people to come in and provide them a little extra support. So be that person for other people right now. 

It may seem a little like, ‘Oh, I’ve never talked to elderly people before’ and ‘Oh, I’m not comfortable with that,’ but just give it a go and nothing scary about it. Everyone’s just always lovely.