Photo: Adelaida and her instructor, Maria Vazquez, work on a lesson.
Adelaida, a native of El Salvador, has been a San Francisco resident for over 18 years. She is a member of the Mission Neighborhood Senior Center on Capp Street and often enjoyed the classes and activities offered by the center until it closed due to the pandemic. Maria Campos, her friend who works at the center, told Adelaida about Community Tech Network and our Home Connect program. Adelaida immediately applied and was accepted. Although she was happy that the training was to be conducted in Spanish, she became apprehensive about her ability to be successful and learn. She could use her cellphone, but could she learn to use a computer?
Her digital trainer was Maria Vazquez, who patiently guided her through the basic five familiarization sessions. She was introduced to Zoom, Gmail, and the camera app, and now Adelaida enjoys sharing pictures with her family and friends. She is grateful that Maria also taught her how to use YouTube to watch her favorite old-time movies, a welcome distraction during the isolation she’s experienced because of San Francisco’s stay-at-home orders. Her experience working with Maria was excellent in all respects, and she is truly appreciative for Maria’s time and friendship.
After Maria’s lessons Adelaida received a call from Hector Boillos, her future digital coach, who will help her learn to do more with her tablet. Adelaida is looking forward to the additional learning time with Hector as she wants to feel more comfortable using her tablet to participate in the virtual trainings offered by the senior center on Zoom. She says the tablet has been a blessing, allowing her to rejoin her friends from the center. Her experience of pandemic isolation is now much more positive, and the days go by more quickly. She is grateful to have the tablet and for the quality one-on-one time to learn to use it.
The volunteers and paid staff at CTN are committed to ensuring that isolated older adults receive compassionate, caring, and safe digital literacy instruction during the pandemic. Maria and Hector, thank you for sharing your talents.
