Intergeneration. In Paris, the 3rd edition of “En baskets avec Paulette” allows you to walk or run with an elder

His sneakers and jogging pants are already ready. All that remains is to collect the bib. This Sunday, October 6, along the Saint-Martin canal, in Paris, Marion Carrega, 39, business law lawyer and mother, will participate in the 3rd edition of “En baskets avec Paulette”: an intergenerational race intended for break with the image of vulnerable elderly people and create bridges between generations. Marion, who is signing her second participation, does not yet know who she will team up with. She will find out that very morning. “Intergenerational events have become very rare,” regrets this business law lawyer. In my family, ties are strong with grandparents and older cousins. It’s cultural. » Marion was looking for community involvement when she came across an article mentioning encouraging mobility for the elderly. “Walking slowly with an elder in a caring and supportive relationship will extract me from my professional life, full of confrontations and tensions,” she admits. Since 2021, more than a thousand have participated in the event, from cradle to age 98, the age of the oldest in 2023.

Invite the old ones out again

At the origin of this initiative: the little brothers of the Poor and the Paris en company association which invites elders to leave their homes, whether to have a coffee, chat in a park, vote, go shopping or even undergo medical examinations. Seniors call the association’s headquarters to make their needs known. Thanks to an application, volunteers can view seniors by district in real time, and depending on their availability, accompany one of them for an outing. Like Amazigh Oudjaoud, 29 years old, management controller, volunteer helper for three years. Her eldest? Claudine Midavaine, blind, passionate about sport. “I did athletics and accompanied cross-country skiing for a long time. Today, I continue to go to the gym twice a week,” she explains.

A real place in society

It was thanks to “En baskets avec Paulette” that they met. “Being Claudine’s eyes was an extraordinary experience,” says Amazigh. Since then, the young man has accompanied Claudine every two weeks for a walk along the Ourcq canal. “I grew up in Kabylia (Algeria), where I worked with my grandfather until he was 95,” he says. I cut his hair, I even helped him take a shower. I know he was happy until the end and never felt alone. We must not abandon the elderly. When we walk or run alongside them, we make them exist in society. »

According to the 2021 barometer of the Little Brothers of the Poor and the CSA, 2 million people aged 60 and over in France suffer from isolation. This is the case of Jean-Louis Ducoffre, 75 years old. Blind, he will walk with an unknown partner. “Alone, we don’t do anything. Together, we do everything,” he sums up. This importance of the intergenerational pair is materialized for the first time this year, even in the medals that will be awarded to all participants. “Each is in two detachable parts,” explains Jean Martin, 90, designer and sculptor of the medal: one for the elder, the other for the caregiver. »