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A schoolboy and an elderly volunteer have teamed up to voice a new audiobook designed to bridge the generation gap and highlight loneliness.
Logan Greening, a Year 6 pupil at Hengoed Primary School, and Pauline Kennedy, an elderly volunteer from the Ystrad Mynach-based support group Singing for the Brain, recorded the audio version of Buster and Tuesday Afternoon.
The book, written by YYFM hospital radio founder Steve Davies, explores the friendship between a young boy and an elderly woman.
Directing the story
The project began after charity Age Cymru approached Mr Davies late last year to help find creative ways to tackle loneliness.
Mr Davies said: “It was coming up just to Christmas and it got me thinking that loneliness is pretty sad at any time of the year. Lots of people do not get social contact.
“I thought it would be nice to write a little story or a play and involve a local school. I never envisioned that it was going to be turned into a book.”
Mr Davies worked alongside fellow YYFM volunteer and former University of South Wales media lecturer Steve Johnson to produce the audio version. The pair visited Hengoed Primary School on Friday July 3, along with Ms Kennedy and her family, Gelligaer Community councillors, and Senedd Member Lindsay Whittle, to launch the book.
The initiative received financial backing from Gelligaer Community Council to fund its publication.
“One of the things which we are passionate about with YYFM is the intergenerational aspect, where the old can learn off the young and vice versa,” Mr Davies added. “Both groups have got so much to offer to one another.”
Bringing the audio to life
Mr Johnson, who acted as the producer for the project. He said: “We got the really young person, a slightly more mature person, and the story was acted out. I recorded the audio, took it back, and edited it.
“Audio is a brilliant tool for storytelling. When people listen to the story, they will see the main female character, the young lad, and the dog in their minds. They will all see different characters, and that is the creative potential of audio.”
Building empathy in the classroom
Jonathan Moran, a Year 6 teacher at Hengoed Primary, said the project added a new dimension to the school’s existing community work.
“It has given the pupils massive empathy,” Mr Moran said. “We were already doing work with the silver reader scheme, reading to the people who live in the care home opposite.
“But this brought another dimension because it brought the kids’ love of creativity, digital technology, and the big theme of loneliness that everyone can relate to.”
The school runs its own independent internet radio station from a purpose-built onsite studio. Mr Moran added that the school hopes to work with YYFM and Gelligaer Community Council on future projects to show pupils non-traditional career paths in digital media.
Lindsay Whittle, Plaid Cymru MS for Blaenau Gwent Caerffili Rhymni, said: “It was a very special day for all the children involved in such an emotional subject. It’s a great book that helps raise awareness of loneliness among all ages. I was proud to be present.”
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