Carlo
I'm one of the community visitors here.
I was conveniently introduced to the program through a mutual friend of mine.
At the time I was spending so much time on myself, trying to make myself a better person, developing my own interests.
And after getting to know some of the residents, I realised it made me feel good.
It was a unique opportunity in which I was able to impact other people’s lives.
Germana
Hello.
Hello!
Carlo
Oh, hello Germana.
Germana
There’s my grandson!
Carlo
How are you?
Lovely to see you.
Germana
Long time no see.
Carlo
It's been three days.
The moment I was introduced to Germana, I walked into her bedroom and it was like a house on fire from the first moment.
She turned her head around, looked at me and she greeted me with a big smile, detected quite quickly that I was also Italian background and we just had so much to talk about.
She was so animated and since then I've been visiting and we've gotten along very well.
Germana
They're so good.
He's a great guy. He's a great guy. It’s like he’s my grandson.
He’s inspirational.
He can make me think and, you know, I can talk to him about anything.
He's very easy to communicate.
Carlo
Having the opportunity to connect with Germana has really taught me that everyone has different perspectives.
I really benefit from a lot of her wisdom and stories.
She comes from a different era and it is a learning experience.
We often learn best off other people and learning from people different to you encourages you to be more open minded.
Germana
He's a good person. Deeply good. He's got a great heart.
Carlo
Oh, thank you Germana.
Germana
I feel like I know you forever. Actually I would go as far as say I love him.
Courage (staff member)
There's somebody in aged care who like to talk to you.
They always want people to come and visit.
It could be 1 hour, it could be 2 hours, one day a week.
Come in, have a chat with somebody.
To put a smile in somebody's face, it’s easy and it'll change someone's life.
Germana
We in the aged care facility, we do need communication with outside people. I appreciate Carlo for what he is because when you're old, you feel you’re put on the side and that's it.
And with him I don't feel like that. So that is something that I appreciate very much.
Carlo
It's a wonderful opportunity to both grow as well as to achieve something truly fulfilling.
Nothing brings more pleasure than being able to offer a service back to the community.
I think everyone should be participating.