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Creating a bond between young and old
 

Residents of a care home in East London have been enthusiastically sharing their life experiences with local youngsters with the help of an educational arts charity and sponsorship from a local housing association.

Sanctuary Housing, a not for profit organisation, is sponsoring Magic Me, an organisation which links young and old in activities which include writing and story telling and helps to overcome cultural differences. Residents of Hawthorn Green Care Home, a 90 bed care home in Stepney, which is managed by Sanctuary Care, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sanctuary Housing, are sharing stories from their lives, with Year 5 children from Hawthorn Green and Osmani Primary School, focusing on the theme of ‘places that have been important to them’.

Children make up a quarter of the population of Tower Hamlets where currently there are limited play resources. The 9 and 10 year olds, most of who are of Bangladeshi origin, once a week visit the residents, some of whom use wheelchairs and some who have dementia.

 

Linking young and old in activities to
overcome cultural differences

Over a number of weeks, the children have been working with residents on their ‘Sense of Place’ project telling stories and making collages, models and maps about places they have lived. The group have visited the Museum of London , and put together a final presentation an exhibition of their work for a specially invited audience on 17th March. The sessions have been led by a storyteller and two visual artists from Magic Me.

Rob Hughes , Head of East London Regeneration for Sanctuary Housing Association, said: “We have worked with Magic Me previously and seen the benefits of lasting friendships between young and old. This scheme is an excellent way for them to share interesting experiences and learn about each other.”

Susan Langford, Director of Magic Me said: “The project has been very successful in engaging people of different ages and backgrounds in creative work and new relationships. By building into the project training for Hawthorn Green staff, we have been able to generate a high level of interest and support for the work.”

 

 
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Sanctuary Housing Association is a registered social landlord (Housing Corporation No. L0247), and is an exempt charity under the Charities Act 1993 (Industrial & Provident Society No. 19059R).