LENDINARA (Rovigo) – Welcoming a very young Erasmus student into a facility for the elderly is a challenge, but also an additional resource for improving the well-being of the residents.
The experience of Eva and Cristina, very young Spanish students, who spent two months at the Casa Albergo in Lendinara, experimenting in the field with the skills learned in their studies as healthcare workers. Their Erasmus+ exchange project, which began in mid-March, ended these days with the girls’ return home.
“For the Casa Albergo, welcoming young people is nothing new – explains the psychologist of the residential structure, Matilde Montresor – But never more than in recent years has it been important to maintain projects like this, because our elderly have lost many things and everything that can enrich them is important”. The presence of young people alongside the residence team enriches the days from a human and relationship point of view: “There is a person who dedicates even just ten minutes to accompanying an elderly person to have a cappuccino. Above all, there is a person who is there for him,” adds Montresor.
“The educators are responsible for organizing activities to provide stimuli to the guests – he explains Aurelio Zenzaro, educator at the facility – At the beginning the students took on a role of participant observation, and then gradually became more autonomous in organizing activities, getting to know the residents better and establishing relationships with them”. Relationships are precisely fundamental to improving the well-being of those who live at the Casa Albergo: “Those who have lost everything have also lost the motivation, the purpose to get up in the morning. Having young people who speak another language is a challenging situation and represents a motivation, an extra stimulus that gives you an extra, richer day.”
Cristina and Eva inserted themselves into this context. They are from Valladolid, Spain, and both study at Gregorio Fernandez Educational Center in the field of personal assistance. In recent months they have lived in Rovigo, traveling daily to Lendinara to carry out their internship. “At first the new life here was tiring, but we soon got used to it – says Eva, 18 years old – Working with older people is very rewarding. They reciprocate with smiles and hugs.”
“At the beginning we were nervous, it was the first time we were with elderly people, we were afraid of not being able to work well – adds Cristina, 17 years old – We realized how sensitive and fragile the elderly are, how they need not so much to be looked after but with a good morning and a smile. We don’t know how to speak Italian well, but a hug can communicate many things.”
Eva and Cristina’s internship at the Casa Albergo di Lendinara is the result of the collaboration between Zico and the Tempo Libero cooperative of Brescia. Overall it involved 5 students in Erasmus+ in Rovigo, placed in 4 companies. It is the third Erasmus internship project in which Zico experiments, bringing his experience in the fields of orientation, training and job placement into an international context. Last year it welcomed 5 beauticians and hairdressers from the island of La Reunion and 5 young pastry chefs from France to Rovigo in local activities linked to their training courses. Furthermore, in this period it is collecting registrations from young unemployed people interested in spending a period in Sweden to train and gain work experience.
