In her own words, Lorna explains why she decided to volunteer for the Grampian Society for the Blind befriending project and how she has benefited from volunteering.

I was sitting reading the Northern Scot when I came across an advert for The Grampian Society for the Blind. I read on and was interested to find out what a befriender was - I thought to myself “I could do that, it’s very interesting”.

I emailed Kirsty Williams and took it from there. I found the training course very interesting; I was a bit shy at first but everyone made me feel really welcome and Kirsty was lovely, she really put her point across. I was eager for our next training course as it was very interesting and I felt all the information we learned was good.

When I eventually was ready to meet my befriendee through Kirsty, I did feel a little nervous but that soon faded away when I met Maggie. She was a lovely lady and when we began talking I knew we would get on just great and we did.  I enjoyed spending time with Maggie; if she wasn’t up to going out we would listen to her favourite CDs - Winston Churchill or her Scottish songs. Other times we went out for our coffee or looked around the shops, zooming about in her new electric chair which Maggie loved once I got used to working it.

One thing I won’t forget is Maggie saying to me that it’s lovely to feel the wind on your face, something we all take for granted, a simple wee thing she hadn’t felt in a while made me feel quiet humble. Whenever I was feeling down Maggie was the kind of lady that would lift your spirits right back up again; her smile would light up the room and I really enjoyed her company.

I was sad when Maggie left but I’ll definitely keep in touch through telephone befriending once her phone is up and running.  I am sure Maggie will like that as she loves to chat and we will have plenty to talk about.

I’ve also applied for a job as a support worker and I am doing my training for that. It has given me the confidence to go and do something I enjoy and its been worthwhile.

Anyone who thinks “I can do that”, I would say go for it. It is such a rewarding job to do - seeing folk with smiles on their faces makes it all worthwhile.