National Befriending Week 2021: A Day in the Life of Abdu

 

To celebrate the occassion this year, we followed Tigers Team Mates Delivery Officer Abdu on one of his busiest days.  

 

Since Summer 2020, Abdu and our team have been supporting members of the community by tackling loneliness with planned activities and support to members of the community who are at risk of isolation. 

 

Speaking about the support work he does, Abdu said: 

 

"The type of work we do is providing any support for people feeling isolated in a way that would suit them best. For some it has been our befriending phone call service where we call the participants either weekly, twice a week or each day.  

 

We have also provided a delivery service for shopping, prescription pickups and library books for those who don’t feel like they could risk leaving their home or are not capable. Plus a Walking Football session twice a week.  

 

We are also planning to host activities at the Tiger Trust Arena. The activities can include coffee mornings, light sports or just a casual natter!" 

 

Having been in the role for over a year now, Abdu admits that he gets an extreme level of satisfaction from seeing the difference he is able to make in the community.  

 

"It is such a rewarding job.  

 

"Being able to see how much our participants are benefitting from our services and how little things like having a chat for five or ten minutes could mean to them makes us appreciate and realise how important our work is.  

 

"Witnessing the difference we make to peoples day to day life is one of the most satisfying things there is."