Gubbe x Kouvola Licorice
According to Gubbe , there are 300,000 lonely elderly people and 66,000 young people at risk of social exclusion in Finland. We at Kouvola's Lakrits wanted to tackle this problem together with Gubbe.
What the hell, Gubbe?
In Gubbe, an older person gets company from a young person and the young person gets paid and meaningful work for themselves. They spend two hours a week together for a year. The time together can be spent, for example, having coffee, going out or playing games - this is decided together.
The participating companies, in turn, receive monthly updates on how Gubbe's meetings with their sponsor have gone and what they have been up to together.
Introducing Unna-gubbe and Saima
Godparent: 96-year-old Saimi (nickname Saima) from Joensuu, who lives at home
Gubbe: 17-year-old high school student Unna from Joensuu
Saima and Unna-gubbe started getting to know each other in August 2021. At their first meetings, they discussed what they could do together and how Unna-gubbe could be of the greatest help to Saima. Saima showed Unna-gubbe, among other things, photos from her youth and went through her life. Unna-gubbe listened with interest and the time flew by during the visits, as there was so much to talk about. Both of them were a little nervous at first, but that's always part of getting to know new friends!
Unna-gubbe and Saima's journey together is followed monthly on Laku's social media channels.