SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - A South Florida teen has come up with a plan that’s programmed to help seniors in the community.
Class was in session for Miami Country Day School student Nicolas Jachtchenco, but this time, he was the teacher.
It started when the 15-year old spent a lot of his summer last year helping his grandmothers use their phones.
“I realized that it was probably a need for other seniors, too, not just my grandparents,” he said.
And so began Senior Tech Connect.
The community service project is designed for older adults to learn about and get comfortable using basic technology.
“A lot of people have tried to help them with technology in the past, and a lot of people aren’t so patient and stuff,” said Jachtchenco, “but I go really slow. I help them with whatever they want, and they’re really grateful.”
The teen takes pride in his work, and it shows. After a year, he now volunteers at 15 other centers and libraries.
His classes are broken down into 15 minutes of instruction and 25 minutes of hands-on help.
Since Jachtchenco began, he’s had almost 800 seniors attend his classes.
“We try to be here every time he comes,” said one of his students. “We have it on our schedule, and we try to make it to his classes, if possible, and get as much out of it as we possibly can. Excellent, he’s wonderful.”
And nobody is prouder of what Jachtchenco has accomplished in just one year than his mother, Angelique Suarez.
“It’s really been him, his drive and his desire to help the community,” she said. “He gets, when he walks out of a class, and he sees – people will stand up, they’ll clap for him, they’ll be like, ‘Thank you so much, que Dios te bendiga, mi niño,’ things like that, so he feels so good, and it’s great. It’s a great feeling.”
Senior Tech Connect offers classes on using smart devices, cybersecurity, computers and sending emails, as well as how to use social media and other popular apps.
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