Lockdown letters: Schoolgirl Sofia forges 'Bella' bond with care home penpal

Ten-year-old schoolgirl Sofia’s love of penpal writing has led her to forge a close bond with a woman who has been under lockdown at Bryn Bella care home in Wrexham.

Sofia Bird from St Mary's Aided School in Wrexham is the penpal of Susanne Lewis; a resident at at a care home run by Pendine Park.

Wheelchair-user Susanne Lewis, aged 41, has Spina bifida and visual impairment.

The pair have been regularly writing letters to each other and got to meet at last when the schoolgirl visited Susanne for a socially-distanced chat and presented her with flowers.

'Nice' to hear about times she has been in hospital

Sofia Bird said: “It’s been nice to make new friends. I have had a pen pal before but that was a young person like me who lives in London.

“It was nice to learn about a lady in Bryn Bella Care Home and hear about the times she has been in hospital.

“I want to know more about Susanne. It must be really difficult being in a care home when you can’t have visits from your family and friends because of the virus.”

Sofia’s sister Adelina, who attends the same school, also loves writing and is a care home penpal buddy of a resident in Oswestry. Adelina joined her sister to meet Susanna Lewis.

The resident was delighted to get a visit from her new friend and gave Sofia a pottery hedgehog she had made herself at the care home’s art class.

Susanne Lewis said: “It was really nice thing to do and I enjoyed reading the letters and writing back.

“Lockdown hasn’t been easy and we have had to be very careful. So, when Sofia and Adelina came, I wasn’t able to get very close to them and had to keep a face mask on.

“It will be nice to learn more about them, and I’m going to keep writing."

The trend is not so much overseas cultural exchanges but at home intergenerational communications for a growing number of schools up and down the country who have children writing to care home pals.

Sofia and Adelina are the daughters of Louisa Bird, the school’s nursery teacher, who believes it had been a good learning experience.

She said: “It’s been a lovely project and given them an insight into other people lives. And while Susanne isn’t old, she has substantial physical issues that mean she needs permanent care.

“It’s lovely to see how Sofia gained an understanding of Susanne’s life and what living in a care home means.”

Inspired by Captain Tom

The school’s deputy head, Darren Morris, came up with the idea to contact the care home after being inspired by seeing the positive impact an older person like Captain Tom can have on school pupils.

Darren Morris said: “While closed we had around 10 pupils who are the children of key workers in school. I thought it would be nice to write letters to care home residents and perhaps brighten their day.

“I contacted Sarah Edwards, the Pendine Park Artist in residence as well as an Oswestry care home and set about organising the children to write their letters using Captain Tom as an example of what older people can do.

“The children thoroughly enjoyed writing their letters and were thrilled when they received replies. We are even looking into the possibility of holding a Zoom meeting so children can chat to their new friends.”

Pendine Park Artist in residence Sarah Edwards says the care home is always looking for opportunities to share inter-generational experiences.

Sarah Edwards said: “It’s obviously been very difficult living under lockdown for all our residents so any opportunity for social interaction is good. It’s nice that children have taken an interest in care homes and what life is like for residents.

“I certainly hope, once lockdown ends and we get back to whatever the new normal is, we can invite the children of St Mary’s to Pendine Park to share some time with residents and cement their new-found friendships.”

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