Joel Matip helps Anfield schoolkids tackle elderly isolation
Joel Matip joined a group of Year 6 pupils this week to help tackle the social isolation of Anfield’s elderly community.
The children, from Whitefield Primary School also in Anfield, visited a group of residents from Millachip nursing home to teach them how to use technology, such as video calling to keep in touch with friends and family.
Matip joined in with the pupils as they shared their technology skills, played classic board games and chatted to the residents, bridging the generations and addressing the social isolation that can often be found amongst the elderly community.
Club chaplain Bill Bygroves was also on hand with his guitar to lead the chorus of LFC songs sung by all.
Matip said: “It’s great to see the difference that the children want to make - they’re so inspiring. Meeting the elderly fans was also really special and I’m grateful to have been asked to attend.”
The session was part of LFC Foundation’s #iwill campaign which is working to inspire children and young people to make positive contributions to their local communities, the environment and society as a whole.
Matt Parish, director of LFC Foundation, said: “Children and young people play a key role in communities and by participating in programme’s like #iwill they feel empowered because of the positive difference they have made to their environment and society.
"It’s been really rewarding to see how things like mobile phones and bingo can bring together the generations in a way where everyone is having fun and learning something.”
As a partner of the #iwill campaign, the LFC Foundation have generated a total project fund of £1.25m, which is funded 50 per cent by the LFC Foundation and 50 per cent match funded by #iwill.
This investment will deliver a three-year project engaging more than 5,800 individual children and young people aged 10 to 14.
The project will work with 21 local schools (12 primary and nine secondary) in areas of high deprivation across Liverpool City Region and local youth and community groups. Lessons and workshops are youth led, peer-to-peer education and guided by LFC Foundation’s #iwill team, which consists of five members of staff.