From young to old, all of us have experienced difficult times due to COVID-19, and even more, people can experience loneliness. Even though the measures have been eased, we still struggle with the new way of life. In the context of 'the week against the loneliness', our community walked through the neighborhood and made people smile by offering a piece of cake and having a little chat. Curious how it went? Keep on reading!
On October 4th, the Cohesion community in Amsterdam went for a stroll through the neighborhood. From the old lady that just did some grocery shopping, to the boys that were playing soccer to the mail delivery guy. Everyone could get a piece of cake!
We first stopped at a complex where a lot of students and the elderly live in. Some shared their story about how they experienced the last 1.5 years during COVID-19. Most of the elders struggled with less or no family/friends visits. This often made it very lonely, especially because it was not possible to go to the bingo or stop by the neighbor to have a little coffee break. Some of them even learned how to use a mobile phone so they could chat or video call with their friend and family.
The students also experienced loneliness as they had to follow lectures online, could not go to parties, or had COVID themselves.
On October 7th, it was time for the Cohesion community in Rotterdam to cheer up their neighbors. Luckily, the sun was shining, and a lot of people could enjoy their cake during their daily lunch break stroll. In front of the nearest subway station, there were some people reading the paper or waited for their next subway ride. As they were handing out the cakes, the people started to have a joint conversation, great to see that they brought people together!
The Cohesion coliving - Social, Ambition, Health & Sustainable