The COVID-19 pandemic has unfortunately only intensified circumstances leading to loneliness and isolation. With isolation and loneliness becoming such a prevalent health risk, it is imperative to develop technologies that help reduce these pain-points. Baruj Avram, a 21 year old from Panama, discovered this gap early on and wanted to alleviate this by providing a service that pairs volunteers with elder orphans who need support and companionship. During the start of the pandemic, he found himself stranded, and alone in Miami. His family lives in Panama, and Avram was forced to stay in America, until there was further notice. In the meantime, he was able to connect with his family via phone, but he pondered how difficult it must be for those without a family at this time.

"I'm from Panama and Panama was completely locked down" he says. "I was forced to quarantine by myself for eight months and after a few months went by, I spent by birthday alone and I just felt so lonely. I wanted to connect with people who were going through the same thing. Then I discovered elder orphans, and I knew I had to help."

After conducting his own research, Avram realized there was an untapped demographic that was being underserved: elder orphans. He uncovered that 35% of elders in nursing homes have no family and do not receive attention from visitors. With the intent to bridge this gap, Avram set out to disrupt this statistic. Learning about this concerning statistics urged Avram to take action, and he kicked off a non-profit organization called Calls4Care. This platform is architected to connect people to elder orphans that have no friends or family outside of their nursing homes. Calls4Care has been able to connect over 2000 volunteers with elder orphans. In conclusion, these connections have cultivated a community and life-long relationships that will outweigh the effects of the pandemic. 

The science behind Calls4Care is simple: it pinpoints a volunteer's interests, skills, and life experience and then pairs them with the most qualified elder orphan candidate. Without a doubt, the pandemic was a difficult time for the entire world. However, with the kindness and consideration of people like Baruk Avram, groundbreaking platforms are coming to fruition. 

To learn more about Calls4Care or about becoming a volunteer, check out their website here.