The Intergenerational Canteen of Bioule

Civilisation

Young and old: sharing meals and experiences around a lunch table

A newly built school canteen, outside of the school but in the heart of the village, was also made available to the older people in the village. For five years now, every school day a few men and women over 75 have shared their meals with the schoolchildren. Real bonds of affection have been formed between the generations, and the shared meals are as much a pleasure for the children as they are for the elderly. The former confide in their adopted grandparents, the latter tell the stories of their lives. These interactions are extended by communal activities (board games, small manual tasks or singing organised by leisure centres). The elderly enjoy the happy chatting of the children, which ensures that their days do not seem so long. The children discover a world that the distance from their own grandparents did not necessarily allow them to know.