A new facility at the Hastings, Christ Church headquarters of the Barbados Association of Retired Persons (BARP) has been designed to give seniors digital access to all their transactions in a comfortable setting.
This was emphasised recently when President of BARP, Marilyn Rice-Bowen, declared open its new Legacy Foundation BARP Members Business Centre.
Noting it was birthed to ensure members are both trained to use and are using the various digital platforms, she attributed the Centre’s genesis to October 1, 2021, World International Day for Older People, where the chosen theme “Digital Equity For All Ages”, resonated with BARP.
“We thought that we should have a dedicated space for seniors to access the digital spaces and of course that was before and during COVID-19,” Ms. Rice-Bowen said.
The president also noted it was borne out of the realisation that about a third of BARP’s members had email addresses but no access to equipment. Lamenting this, she said: “So, you would send messages and you would realise that they are never opened. So, during COVID we realised that persons needed to be exposed to the digital platform because, to be honest, it ain’t going anywhere it is here to stay.
“Initially, when the computer and all the digital spaces were being developed, people were saying don’t worry with that; that ain’t going last too long, but it is here to stay.”
She described the new facility as a project where members can come and be exposed, use the internet, and be trained how to use the internet, for instance, to file for visa application; to meet statutory obligations, to obtain a passport, etc.
Acknowledging that BARP sought funding from the Legacy Foundation, she commended Haniff Moore and his team as well as the various Boards and directors of BARP for their “pure volunteerism”.
Mrs. Rice-Bowen, who also reflected on last week’s outages caused by CrowdStrike, said it must be realised that digital “is the way that we are going, and they are not turning back”.
Adding that BARP must ensure all members are fully equipped, she revealed that her organisation would be deepening its relationship with Legacy’s other half, the Barbados Public Workers’ Cooperative Credit Union Ltd., to have access to its automatic teller machines (ATMs) so that seniors could get the experience and exposure to the world of the ATMs.
“We want to make our seniors very comfortable with all aspects of the technology,” she said noting these included all digital platforms and the ATMs, and BARP was intent on this due to concerns about financial abuse of seniors, who may at times seek assistance in the sphere and end up sharing their passwords and cards with other people, hence giving access to their monies.
Mrs. Rice-Bowen also assured all members that BARP would hold their hands and escort them through any changes in their lives.