Gillingham: On Saturday 4th December, older people from across Medway and as far as London came to Sahara's monthly social event armed with gifts for women and children. They spent the morning wrapping and packing hundreds of these donations, which are to be gifted to women’s refuges in Medway this Christmas.
They also donated the candles that they had painted and hand-decorated the previous month.
The group is part of Sahara, a support service for older South Asian people. It meets every month and its activities aim to offer social connection and opportunities for learning about health and wellbeing.
Paramjot Kaur, founder of Sahara, said:
"How great is it that people freely offered these gifts to strangers in the hopes that they might make their day a little better?
Acts of kindness towards others are also part of the wider picture of our own wellbeing - they can give us a sense of purpose and make us feel happier and more satisfied about life".
Once the gifts were packed and ready, the group continued with the rest of its social event: eating traditional food, drinking tea, doing Christmas crackers and playing games before listening to a talk about Diabetes Awareness.