Finding meaning in lockdown: Working with change for change
Facing Up’s partnership with NOAH was deepened during the 2020 lockdown despite students not being allowed to engage with residents and limited time on site. Due to the residents being seniors and therefore at high risk, NOAH imposed a strict lockdown for residents and the centre was shut down. At the time, South Africa was on Level 3 which meant limitations to gatherings, curfews, mandatory wearing of masks and social distancing.
Occupation-based community development praxis recognises that relationship is central to practice and the lockdown restrictions initially then posed as a challenge. For the rest of the world, switching to remote engagements became the norm but how we were we going to establish authentic relationships with a population that has limited knowledge, skills and access to technology? What would practice look like during lockdown with this vulnerable group?
We decided to adopt a project-based approach to practice where the design and focus would meet the emerging needs of the community against a defined timeline. We recognised the need to adopt principles of Design Thinking and Project Management into our practice. This meant that we needed to gain an understanding of the occupational needs and challenges of the residents and the organisation now during the COVID-19 global pandemic and lockdown. It also meant that we needed to adopt a flexible but innovative approach in designing an occupation-based intervention to address the identified needs. A question that arose was: How would lockdown affect the health and wellbeing of people in terms of their occupational engagement? How have the often intangible aspects of social relationship be affected by lockdown?
The centre manager and handful of residents were selected as the group that students would partner with. This satisfied the health and safety protocols but also allowed us to be able to engage meaningfully with community partners. Despite working with NOAH for a while, we couldn’t assume that all their needs and challenges remained the same and so embarked on a process of a context-related assessment.
It was discovered that the residents were experiencing occupational deprivation due to not being able to come to the centre where opportunities for engagement were offered. The lockdown also influenced social relationships in that residents were no longer able to meet with friends and family and were forced to stay at home where relationship tensions amongst residents might have existed. It forced residents to confront these tensions on a daily basis. Residents were forced to ‘get to know each other’ which for some was a good opportunity but for others was a challenge and affected the mental health of a few.
We looked to previous interventions at NOAH that addressed relationships and occupational deprivation and decided on two foci for an occupation-based intervention namely the Storytelling project and Home-based occupational engagement project.
The Storytelling project
The idea of ‘getting to know each other’ through each other’s stories while in lockdown seemed at the time an ideal way to ‘break the ice’.
In 2019, we engaged in a process of collecting stories from residents with the aim of getting to know each other through their stories. Residents enjoyed telling stories and sharing about their lives (as did we); a natural developmental milestone for this stage of development. This intervention was never continued and it was decided to re-explore the value of storytelling as an occupation.
We immediately recognised the power of storytelling in that it aligns with the natural desire in this stage of life to reflect on life and start the process of termination. It was humbling to hear residents stories but also their willingness to impart wisdoms and life lessons with us. Occupation as means and ends was central in anchoring the purpose of storytelling. The means was to support residents in experiencing meaning in this stage of their lives and the ends was to address poor relationships amongst residents but also between residents and staff.
In 2019, when we showcased residents' stories to other residents it was received well in that residents suddenly made common connections and realised they had more in common than in difference.
We started the process of collecting stories from residents but paid attention for this process to be experienced as deeply meaningful. Meaningful in that residents engage in the process of critical reflection of their lives, have an opportunity to recognise lessons learnt, identify seasons that produced growth and to impart wisdoms onto the next generation. We designed questions around common themes that were picked up during interviews and informal conversations with residents. Love and relationships, Apartheid, Religion and Life Story were common topics that residents would naturally raise in conversations and so we took their lead. A storybook was the end product, including photographs and significant quotes or pearls of wisdoms. The residents who voluntary participated all reported the deep satisfaction they experienced in telling their story and reflecting on their lives and making sense of the world around them. Click here to view the story book. The intention is for the story book to be circulated amongst residents in the homes as a conversation starter; but also to encourage other residents to share their stories too.
Home-based programme: The “Happiness booklet”
“We saw and felt a sense of “lifelessness” in the centre. We saw no laughter, dancing, music, games and social connections that most of the residents explained was their favourite part of coming to the Centre” – Rebecca Van den Linde and Jenna Glover
The residents were experiencing different levels of engagement. Lockdown was experienced differently for those who never came to the centre and those who did. No activities, games or any resources were available in the homes. The homes had no internet access and no visitors were allowed. This resulted in many residents experiencing occupational deprivation, loneliness, boredom and a decrease in physical health due to sedentary patterns of engagement. Many residents reported feeling that ‘they had slowed down’ faster during lockdown.
We decided to partner with the centre manager in embarking on a design thinking process to design an occupation-based intervention to address the occupational deprivation and social isolation of the residents. We recognised that a possible solution would be to provide resources for activities to each house for residents to engage in but we also recognised how residents need prompting, guidance and almost a scaffold approach in the facilitation of occupational engagement. The monthly programme that used to be displayed and communicated to residents at the centre served the purpose of providing structure, options and details. How could this be simulated under lockdown conditions?
The Happiness Booklet was then designed. Students interviewed residents either telephonically or though social distanced conversations to explore which occupations residents would be interested in. This supported the design of the booklet (click here to request to view booklet) and a draft version was presented to residents for their input in the design, layout, content as well as ideas around implementation. We knew we had to include residents in every step of the process so that the intervention remained relevant and meaningful.
This process of engagement with the residents lent itself to a more deepened understanding of how occupational engagement is experienced by residents and what changes might need to be considered in the Happiness programme at NOAH. The idea behind the book was for residents to take control over their choice of activities they wished to engage in while in lockdown. The book included different activities and ideas for engagement (both individual and collective) with the idea of expanding possibilities for residents. Together with the book, an activity kit was compiled from donations received where residents could access resources to use at home. Click here for information if you wish to donate any resources such as arts and craft materials/books/gardening equipment/etc.
NOAH management recognised the need for occupational engagement to be facilitated to support engagement but also to provide opportunity for relationships to be nurtured amongst residents. A new approach is going to be trialled around promoting occupational engagement for residents at NOAH in the homes. The next chapter will be coming soon...