These two ladies have an infectious zest for life. Their friendship was clearly always meant to be. Long before they made contact with Link Age Southwark they both attended the same primary school at different times when they were young girls growing up in Jamaica. Cita came to England in 1957 and Velma a few years later in 1961. London has been their home ever since and one where they have helped to raise three generations of their family, including children, grandchildren and more recently great grandchildren.

When Cita's husband sadly passed away, she wanted the chance to meet new people, but having had two knee replacements over the years she sometimes struggles with her mobility and so she got in touch with Link Age Southwark to find out about joining our befriending scheme.

"People need people you know!"

She was introduced to Velma, who used to work as a nurse and once she retired knew she wanted to give something back and become a volunteer befriender, a role which she thoroughly enjoys. "I love to go and see them because they really look forward to you coming. It's so good to go out into the community and see people. People need people you know!"

It is clear that Cita and Velma really enjoy each other's company and are very fond of each other.

There is plenty of chatting, laughing and joking during their visits and having Velma in her life allows Cita to maintain some of her independence for as long as she possibly can."