Month: September 2021

Vicky Walker spoke with volunteer vaccinator and outreach steward Caroline at the Downham Vaccination Hub on September 25, 2021.

TRANSCRIPT:

Vicky: Hi. This is Vicky Walker, from Lewisham Vaccination Stories. We have just finished a shift of second and first doses at the Downham Vaccination Hub, and I am here talking to my fellow volunteer vaccinator, Caroline. Hello, Caroline.

Caroline: Hi.

Vicky: So, I know that you and I are both vaccinators and we are enjoying it. What were you doing before the vaccination programme started? How was your pandemic going?

Continue reading Caroline — “I feel very honoured to be serving the community my ancestors were part of”

Vicky Walker spoke with volunteer shift leader Mike at the Downham Vaccination Hub on September, 25, 2021.

TRANSCRIPT:  

Vicky Walker: This is Vicky Walker for Lewisham Vaccination Stories. I’m up at the Downham Vaccination Hub on a cloudy September day. And I’m here talking with…

Mike: Mike.

Vicky Walker: So, Mike, I think you’ve been here since the very beginning in January, with me. What were you thinking when you first arrived here for your first volunteer shift?

Mike: My goodness, what was I thinking?

Continue reading Mike — “The U.K. wouldn’t be anywhere without the vaccine programme and its thousands of volunteers.”

Photo illustration by Polly Coppa Boreham

David W. is a volunteer at the Jenner. 

I found volunteering at the Jenner centre a good way to help the community in these very strange times. It also gave me a reason to get out of the house and away from my studies (I am a post-graduate student).

It also enabled me to meet with a diverse range of people and share workplace banter. The work also provided a useful form of exercise when the gyms were closed — I never realised that four hours of wiping down chairs could be so exhausting.

Devon is a volunteer at the Waldron in New Cross.

The pandemic has been so difficult for everyone in a whole variety of ways, and the incredible vaccine rollout in the UK has given everyone much needed hope. I have been keen to contribute to the efforts in whatever way possible, but it had been difficult while working full-time in finance. I decided to step back to a part-time role in May, and I have been so happy to get involved with the vaccination effort in Lewisham with my extra time.

Everyone at Waldron has such great energy and enthusiasm, from the medical staff to the volunteers to the patients coming to get vaccinated. It has been a humbling experience working with people from all walks of life, and a refreshing change from the world of finance.

I love seeing the doctors and nurses do such an incredible job reassuring patients who are nervous and watching them leave with a huge smile across their face. I have truly enjoyed doing my part – whether directing patients to the vaccination rooms, entering their details in the NHS system, or writing out their vaccination cards – and being a part of the vaccination effort has been such a rewarding experience.

Wendy is a volunteer at St. John’s in Lewisham.

I wanted to do something active — having felt a sense of powerlessness for much of the pandemic period, at just this time I was asked by a fellow tour guide colleague, Sophie, that our local vaccination needed volunteers. She knew I was a Girl Guide leader and therefore had an up-to-date DBS. Her suggestion gave me the confidence to apply.

I have a sense of belonging to my community and doing the right thing for everyone. I want to be part of some action that lets us all get back to normal.

What’s surprised me most is how some people felt so liberated after receiving their vaccination, having lived such isolated and lonely lives for almost a year.

I was surprised at the diversity within my local area; not ethnicity, but how many older people could not communicate in English.

I was also surprised that so many people had mobility issues and how many people needed support in order to attend the clinic. I was surprised and heartened how upbeat and friendly the volunteers have all been, and that every session has been enjoyable.

I’ll always remember some lovely people who came for their jabs; happy and wanting to have a chat, but being really grateful that a vaccine had been rolled out so effectively. And meeting some very welcoming and friendly volunteers and working as a team.

Lisa is a volunteer at Downham, St. John’s, and the Waldron.

I started volunteering in January 2021. Two reasons: I wanted to give back to NHS as a yearly screening program I have been on since I was 25 years old saved my life. Secondly, I knew that if we had lots of people helping out, we as a country would get this moving quickly and efficiently, getting all our lives back to normal. All being healthy and safe being a main priority.

I have really enjoyed all the different people I’ve met and what a positive experience it has been. Seeing people happy to be vaccinated has been personally rewarding. I’ve also learnt things about myself. Helping others is incredibly rewarding. I hope to continue in some way in the future.

Ian is a volunteer at the Waldron. 

My daughter and I volunteered out of a public-spirited ethos, to be of service; and we really got a lot from it. We were especially impressed by the GPs working so hard.

I will most remember the octogenarians coming in. Such a range of people — a kind of living history of London. Irish women who enjoyed some banter (“I’m sorry but we’re not vaccinating people in their 40’s today,” I’d say, to which they’d say something like “Ooh can I marry you?”); proud Jamaican men, telling me their favourite cricketers; old Deptford working-class couples; and even some Blackheath bohemians. A privilege.

Steven is a volunteer vaccinator at Downham, the Jenner, and the Waldron. 

I decided to volunteer because I was in a miserable funk at the beginning of the year, and wanted to do something where I could make a very quick and recognisable impact to a lot of people. I didn’t expect it to be so rewarding, and I certainly didn’t imagine that I’d end up training to be a vaccinator too.

I’ve learned so much, and met so many lovely people, and I feel like I’m part of something really important. I’ve also engaged with people in my community that I wouldn’t normally cross paths with in my normal day-to-day life, which has been really encouraging as well.

I’ll always remember the day I administered my first jab, having been terrified of needles at the beginning of the year. I’ll always remember that drinking tea through a mask is akin to waterboarding yourself with boiling liquid.

Mark Brown talked to Dr Sebastian Kalwij at the Waldron Health Centre in New Cross in June 2021.

TRANSCRIPT

Mark Brown: This is Mark Brown for Lewisham Vaccination Stories. I am deep in the heart of the Waldron vaccination clinic. I’m here with…

Sebastian Kalwij: Sebastian Kalwij. I’m a GP in Amersham Vale Practice and also the Clinical Director for North Lewisham PCN, Primary Care Network.

Continue reading Seb — “The joint effort to attack this pandemic, that’s something that I will remember.”