‘Stories of my Life’ is an intergenerational program that focuses on creating and preserving stories from the lives of our ageing local communities.
As part of their Personal Development Skills studies, the OLMC Year 12 VCAL students are visiting the residents of St Catherine’s Aged Care in Balwyn each week, learning about their stories. The students have been partnered up with a resident and are having weekly one-on-one sessions, recording information and taking photos. On their return to school, the students are typing up their record of the interview, mapping out a storyboard, and piecing everything together to create a published book for their resident.
It has been great to watch the students and residents interact as they chat, laugh, look at photos and share memories, reliving moments from the past and telling many funny and some sad stories too. The students are loving the program and developing a real appreciation that the residents were young once too, and had such interesting experiences. Some of the women have lived the most incredible lives and seem surprised (and pleased!) that we are finding their stories so fascinating.
The students are looking forward to our last few visits to St Catherine’s and will then be involved in the planning of a special celebration and afternoon tea with family and friends, where they will present their books to the residents.
‘Stories of my Life’ is a wonderful learning experience and offers a special opportunity for the VCAL students to share and celebrate the lives of the elderly in our community. It exposes them to history, to stories of the past and helps to build important connections between generations.
Helen Hamblin
Senior Vocational Program Coordinator
