Our team and our mission

The story of Krok k seniorom goes back more than two years. Our grandfather had moved into a care home — we could no longer look after him ourselves. We were close to him, and placing him somewhere far from where we lived was hard on all of us. Watching life in a home for older people, and how few chances there are to do something of your own once you depend on the help of others, was difficult. We did not want him to lose the knowledge, the dexterity and the ability to talk that his illness was already taking from him.

So we started playing games with him — for his hands and for his memory. We threw a ball back and forth and recited times tables; later we named a country or a city with every throw. He surprised us. Despite trouble speaking, and forgetting other things, he knew every capital city, and he always wanted to hear about us and about wherever we were going or had just come back from. Lucka began bringing him worksheets she had drawn on paper before visiting — often in pen, on the train on the way there. She was always glad to find them filled in.

“We threw a ball back and forth and recited times tables. Later we named a country or a city with every throw.”

Those were the most active and the happiest hours he had since arriving at the home. Visiting, we noticed that activities like these would be just as good for the other residents. Like our grandfather, many older people sometimes feel lonely, bored or low, or simply have too little company and too little to spark them into doing something creative. We learned that care workers are in short supply and stretched thin, which is why so few group activities were happening. We wanted to make something practical, usable and within reach — materials any care worker or any older person could simply print out and start on.

That is how Krok k seniorom began: an initiative to improve the mental and physical wellbeing of older people through materials for creative, enjoyable, physical, social and educational activities — games, worksheets, quizzes and colouring pages. In November 2024, after preparing the first set, we began sending care facilities nine materials every month to use in their work with residents, along with a suggested schedule and certificates. We run it as volunteers — in the evenings, at weekends, alongside our jobs. Each of us has a different role and the same aim: to bring some joy where there is a shortage of it.

The people we reach have grown well beyond what we expected — the materials are also used by facilities working with people who have intellectual disabilities. Our subscribers are spread from Bratislava to Snina. Sending everything by e-mail lets us reach communities that would otherwise be out of range.

From what they write back to us, we can tell this makes a real difference — it connects generations, stirs curiosity, and brings joy, new knowledge and a reason to talk into an ordinary day. Our sincere thanks go to every facility, individual, supporter and volunteer. Because of them, a small initiative has become something with reach across the whole country and a message worth carrying. It has convinced us that the autumn of life can be full of contentment, discovery, joy and closeness.