NTU group’s digital workshops get seniors saying CanOneLah
WhatsApp was once a foreign concept to Mr Kassim Jumali, 81, but it quickly became something he knew like the back of his hand.
And his only reason in wanting to learn how to toggle with the messaging platform was so he could see his daughter, who lives in Johor Baru, through video call.
Mr Kassim attended digital literacy workshops organised by a group of final-year Nanyang Technological University (NTU) students whose aim is to encourage digital adoption among seniors.
Called #CanOneLah!, the campaign was rolled out in January at seven senior activity centres, where student volunteers from the NTU Welfare Services Club conduct digital literacy workshops for seniors between 60 and 85 years old. The campaign ends on March 31.
Mr Kassim, who has attended three workshops at AWWA Senior Activity Centre in Ang Mo Kio, said: "Everything I have learnt so far has been easy to understand and if I forget things, the students will recap patiently."
His biggest takeaway is being able to video call his daughter, 25, via WhatsApp.
"Previously, (I'll call her) using the phone, (which) is expensive. Now it is free and I can see her face every day. This makes me happy."
Madam Lee Chay Meng, 72, who attended workshops at Xin Yuan Community Care in Toa Payoh to improve her digital skills, told TNP that since her daughter and grandchildren live in the United States, she was determined to acquire digital skills and is now able to use Zoom to contact her family.
She also hopes to use her new skills to redeem her SingapoRediscovers vouchers.
Ms Grace Lee, 23, who co-founded the campaign, said her team believes in creating a strong network for illiterate and low-income seniors.
She explained that the #CanOneLah! campaign is in line with the Government's push for digital inclusivity among seniors.
Minister for Communications and Information S. Iswaran said at the Committee of Supply debate on March 2 that the SG Digital Office has trained about 69,000 seniors in digital skills and taught them measures to safeguard themselves against risks on the Internet.
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