Children and OAPs share skills in Wii move to remove barriers

THERE'S a 50-year gap in their fields of expertise.

But that's only added to the challenge for youngsters teaching pensioners the joy of Nintendo Wii, while getting some pointers on their needlework in return.

Ten-year-olds from primary schools in Leith have been meeting the residents of St Nicholas Court each week as part of a scheme to swap skills and break down a few barriers that separate the two age groups.

The retired residents have since become pros at Wii Tennis, while the pupils have been practising their cross-stitch.

There have also been a few surprises along the way.

"I didn't expect them to know what Facebook is," said ten-year-old Chloe Hill of the residents in their 70s, "so I was surprised to find out that quite a few of them have their own profiles.

"It's quite interesting hearing about the older people's lives. I found out that one of them lived in Texas for 40 years and another in Africa."

Margaret Dodds, 74, said: "We really look forward to them coming in each week. You always think that children are cheeky and might be causing trouble but they are great.

"It's a good scheme because they always think this is some kind of care home and is going to be really scary, so they were surprised when they found out that we all have our own flats."

Older residents at the home have been passing on some skills and life experience to the pupils, which this week included pottery classes and last week bean-bag making.

Some of the youngsters said the residents had quickly taken to the challenge of the Wii.

Adia Wallace, 11, said: "They're quite competitive and keep trying to beat each other. I think one or two might even have been cheating to win."

The New Spin scheme is run by Leith's Citadel Youth Centre and has been taking place at sheltered accommodation run by Port of Leith Housing Association.

Citadel has been given a grant by the Big Lottery to fund the projects to bring young and old together, and will be visiting other sheltered complexes over the next few months.

Andy Skea, development worker at Citadel, said: "Projects like these are invaluable in helping people feel valued and part of the community.

"The best feedback we receive is when the kids tell us they've seen the older people in the street or in the supermarket and have chatted to them."

As well as furthering community cohesion, the scheme has also allowed the young and old to break down a few stereotypes along the way.

He added: "The kids asked them if they had Facebook profiles and loads of the residents had their hands up."It's just one of the many things they could relate to."