Anniversary SuperGrans help Southlanders to learn valuable life skills

The art of cooking can be nerve-wracking, but an anniversary SuperGran says “don’t sweat, enjoy”.

Hera Low is one of the many volunteers who are part of the Jubilee SuperGrans who work as mentors to share their intergenerational knowledge and skills with their communities to help them thrive.

Low is a caterer and volunteers in her spare time; and has taught cooking workshops under the newly minted SuperGrans.

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“It was really great … we had a lot of people and it’s for every type,” said Low.

People have different needs, and Low was there to help them meet those needs, “because I’m not here to tell them what to eat,” she said.

Little did people know that many brands and ingredients could be substituted for, Low said.

Couscous has been a big hit with people because a lot of people didn’t know what it was or how versatile it could be, she said.

Sharon Soper, manager of the Jubilee Budget Advisory Service, said a few years ago that staff realized that there was a real void in the community of people struggling to learn basic life skills.

“They know, for example, that their budgets were unbalanced because they bought groceries at the corner shop, because they couldn’t cook … things like that,” she said.

Since May there have been 15 workshops with 43 participants participating in various activities to improve their skills.

“Well, not only [these] The workshop benefits people who need the life skills, but also the volunteers who are a valued part of SuperGrans.

“It increases their self-esteem to know that the skills they have acquired are passed on and not lost, but that they have the feeling that they have a purpose in life,” said Soper.

There are currently 11 SuperGrans agencies across Aotearoa New Zealand.