How Baruj Avram's Calls4Care Helps Cure Loneliness Among Senior Citizens

After more than a year of quarantine restrictions across the world, corresponding with friends and family via video chat and phone calls has become more popular than ever, keeping people close from a distance. For 21-year-old Panama native Baruj Avram, these forms of digital communication were a game changer when he was trapped in Miami away from his family thanks to Panama’s lockdown policies.

“I was forced to quarantine by myself for eight months and after a few months went by, I spent my birthday alone,” said Avram. “I just felt so lonely.”

Isolated in a foreign country, Avram turned to regularly calling his friends and family members, which he credits as helping him get through the pandemic with his sanity intact. The wheels in Avram’s head started turning as soon as he noticed what a relief the communication gave him from loneliness, inspiring to bring the miracle of human connection to those who need it most.

“I wanted to connect with people who were going through the same thing. Then I discovered elder orphans, and I knew I had to help.”

Avram’s period of isolation gave him the time to research and develop his now-live non-profit, Calls4Care, bringing together vetted volunteers and senior citizens to create fruitful and fulfilling relationships. The platform particularly focuses on the aforementioned elder orphans that never receive a single visitor from the day they arrived at a nursing home until they pass away, which represents a startling 35 percent of the elderly community.

Free and simple to use, Calls4Care uses a brief questionnaire for everyone that signs up to find out their interests, skills, and hobbies, ensuring that every match made has plenty to talk about. The platform doesn’t discriminate, allowing anyone to participate, including the formerly incarcerated, believing everyone deserves a shot at a healthy digital friendship.

So far, Avram’s Calls4Care has already created more than 2,000 thriving relationships between elders and volunteers, with many senior citizens crediting the platform as changing their lives.

“Calls4Care changed my life,” said one elder touched by the platform. “I felt so disconnected in my nursing home, I was really afraid when quarantine began. I didn't know when I would have the opportunity for anyone to visit again. Now, I receive regular calls from a nice young man and he appreciates my stories.”

To get involved with Calls4Care’s amazing cause, visit the non-profit's website today.

Disclaimer: No Asian Age journalist was involved in creating this content. The group also takes no responsibility for this content.