The “PENSIÓN 65” program is a payment service provided by the “Banco de la Nación de Perú” to people in conditions of extreme poverty from the age of 65.
The Santo Toribio Catholic University of Mogrovejo (USAT) in Peru, in partnership with the National Pension 65 Program, launched the campaign Together We Can End Loneliness ‘Adopta un Abuelito’.
This initiative aims to contribute to the reduction and containment of the emotional impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused on the elderly who live in a vulnerable situation, in the Lambayeque region.
The program seeks to promote permanent accompaniment to the elderly through telephone and virtual communication, which will be carried out by a group of young volunteers who joined this call.
The director of University Social Responsibility (RSU) USAT, Dr. Sofía Lavado Huarcaya, explained that, prior to communication with the elderly, volunteers will be trained by the organizers of this initiative.
‘Adopta un Abuelito’, in addition, to helping the elderly, is a campaign that seeks to encourage the acquisition of life experiences and assume socially responsible behaviors in young people and adults in the region, strengthening the intergenerational process.
The ‘Adopta un Abuelito’ campaign consists of four stages: 1) launch, 2) call and registration, 3) development and 4) complementary activities. In the latter, and only if possible, volunteers can support the elderly with food, medicine and finance.
This project seeks to be sustainable over time with the support of volunteers and organizing teams: USAT and Pensión 65. Therefore, the dissemination and call for more volunteers will continue.
The solidarity proposal was used as a reference to other volunteers that arose abroad, such as in London. Also, in different countries such as Bolivia, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, and Brazil.
For the head of the Territorial Unit of Lambayeque of Pension 65, Mr. Jhony Heredia Paiva, this initiative and others that have been developed together with the USAT, consolidate the joint work giving them the strength and experience to further grow their activities and impact in the future.
You can support this and other solidarity initiatives here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeFE7gn6YRavIWyNNwTYIq7WuQ_wYKi4HI1ofRvi9P5XKypKQ/viewform
Learn more about the initiative here: