3rd part - Delivering Trainings
Smart Buddies
Smart buddies is a digital capability project introduced by Knowledge Pool to meet the needs of the community. Digital exclusion is a big issue, especially among the difficult to reach people in the community. According to the Lloyds Bank Consumer Digital Index report, in 2018, 11.3 million people in the UK (21%) lack the full basic digital skills. 4.3 million (8%) have no basic digital skills at all, 5.4 million working adults (10%) are without basic digital skills. People with a registered disability are 4 times as likely to be offline; 28% of those aged 60+ are offline.
The advent of the Covid-19 pandemic created an upsurge in the use of the internet and digital devices. There are 38,994 (13.1 %) people in Doncaster aged over 64 years old. 1 in 10 of the population in Doncaster are aged 65+ Majority of the elderly are digitally disadvantaged. These and the result of several consultations we’ve made with community leaders are other charities led us to create a channel of supporting the community in improving the digital competency of the people.
Our pilot program kicked-off with Age UK in December 2020 and had seen a group of nervous digital novices transformed into progressive, confident and keen learners. Learners have been building their knowledge and digital skills by attending the weekly class and practicing what they've learnt.
Our learners whose average age is 70 can create and share files, download applications and interact with them. They can identify signs of online scams and threats. They are aware of safety steps (password services, anti-viruses, reporting of phishing emails, blocking unwanted contacts, etc) involved in protecting themselves and their devices. Apart from their technical knowledge they have formed a very strong bond augmented by the use of digital tool (WhatsApp group) through which they interact in and outside of classes. 100% agreed that the training had reduced their loneliness and improved their confidence.
The prize money we received from the Craig Macdonald award and other grant provider had supported us in scaling up the impact of this initiative we are hopeful that we will be able to support this project for the next 12 months.
To kickstart the next stage of this project we have recruited a volunteer manager, who will recruit 20 community volunteers to help us run the digital clubs in various areas in Doncaster. We are looking for community champions or local leaders who are passionate about supporting others.
Because of the unrestricted nature of the prize we received from the Craig Macdonald award we were able to give digital devices to people that needs it in our community. There is a case study that always touches my heart. We got a referral from a social prescriber for a lady with mental health issue who couldn’t receive any support from her health team because she had no digital device to join online meetings on Microsoft Teams during the pandemic. I delivered the device to her myself with a very heavy heart as I saw a vulnerable woman fighting for herself and her family with very little support from the community.
Digital Training at Changing Lives Doncaster
Changing Lives is an organisation to supports vulnerable women who have been through challenging situations get back on their feet. I love training at Changing Lives because it is a vibrant multi-cultural resources centre that operates in the heart of the city. I have trained in a class so diverse we had 10 countries represented in the same class. It was very exciting for me when I got the opportunity to train again in 2022 in Changing Lives due to the support we’ve received from the Craig Macdonald Digital Leaders award.