Avoira's 'Amazing' Alexas make 'such a difference'

To lives of visually impaired and vulnerable residents

Amazon Alexa smart speakers donated to Age UK Bury and Bury Blind Society are transforming the lives of visually impaired and vulnerable residents across the borough.

This comes after technology company Avoira marked its golden anniversary by gifting 50 Echo Dot devices to the two charities. 

Local people who received the speakers have thanked the business after reporting how they have positively impacted their lives.

“It’s definitely improved my life,” says Ramsbottom resident Lynn Leyland-Mather who has macular degeneration in both her eyes and is registered blind.

You can watch Lynn talk about the impact of the donation in the video, “It’s Improved My Life” | The Impact of Avoira’s Echo Dot Donation.

"It's Improved My Life" | The Impact of Avoira's Echo Dot Donation

“I didn’t realise all the things it can do,” she adds, reeling off a list of tasks she uses the device for. These include creating shopping lists, finding recipes, making phone calls and even helping research topics for her monthly philosophy group.“Our radio is 26 years old, so there’s no digital stations. The Alexa’s sound quality is amazing and I can get BBC Sounds and all the radio programmes. I can’t see the television, even with TV glasses, so listening to the radio is very important for me.”

“I’m a keen gardener, with a very big garden and polytunnel and sometimes I just need to ask something. I can’t read so it’s brilliant.”Her enthusiasm was echoed by Bury Blind Society trustee, Nadeem Rana. “I’d like to thank Avoira for providing this equipment which is excellent. It’s a very useful tool for everybody, but especially the blind community, because it’s voice activated.  

“Instead of typing stuff you just keep on asking questions and it gives you answers, multiple answers. I use it for everything, alarms, radio, my medication,” he reports. A member of Lancashire Lions Visually Impaired Cricket Club he also uses his Echo Dot to remind him of matches and training sessions.

Jane Lees, Age UK Bury’s befriending coordinator, says combating loneliness. “People have said how nice it is just to be able to have a chat in the house. When they have a day when they’re not doing anything, with no-one to talk to, they’re just asking lots of questions so they’ve got a voice talking back to them. It’s made such a difference.”

She adds that the Echo Dots are also useful in helping residents contact Carelink, a support service which uses alarm pendants to alert care services if a resident has a fall or requires  assistance.

“Carelink is marvellous but sometimes people don’t wear their alarm so they can’t call for help. Relatives have solved that problem by putting Carelink as the emergency contact on Echo Dots so if someone has a fall they can just shout ‘Alexa, call Carelink’.”

Jill Logan, CEO of Bury Blind Society says the technology has had a real impact, saying: “Equipment such as this gives visually impaired clients the opportunity to become less reliant on friends and relatives, helping them feel more independent, confident, and in control of daily life.

“One recipient of the Echo Dot shared with us how much she is enjoying using the speaker saying, ‘Instead of asking my husband various questions, I have now relieved him of that duty and receive a pleasant answer rather than a grumpy one!’

“Used correctly, technology can be life-changing for our clients, and Avoira’s donation has made a real difference.”

Ania Stark-Ketcher, chief executive of Age UK Bury is also impressed with how the technology is helping vulnerable residents.“It’s amazing the range of things that people are using it for,” she says. “A lot of people are terrified of screens, they don’t want to start swiping and scrolling. Having a conversation with an Echo Dot is just a little less daunting.

She points out that the smart speakers are also helping the charity’s wider work. “One of our volunteers, who is losing her sight, has started practising phoning her clients via the Echo Dot so that she knows how to do it when she loses her vision in a few months time.”Avoira’s managing director, Andrew Roberts, is delighted at the impact the company’s donation has had.

“It’s amazing to hear from those who have benefited from our donation the difference that these devices have made to their lives. They have enabled people to do things, or at the very least make it easier for them to do things, that most of us take for granted. “As society becomes ever more digitally focused, it’s vital that voice-assisted technology enables access to both life-enhancing and life-supporting services.”