How Music and Wi-Fi Spark Joy in Woodberry Down

“They come alive. It’s remarkable to see. They could be so timid and quiet and yet when they hear a song that relates to them or they remember, it’s like they’re a flower unfolding. They’re coming to life in a way.”*

Twice a week in North London, a grassroots charity worker walks into a community centre, plugs in a Jangala Get Box, connects their laptop and speaker, and gets music playing from the internet. They might play Bob Marley or The Supremes, a bit of Motown; the mood they’re aiming for is “vibrant”. And groups of local over 50s come together for games, dancing, singing, a light lunch. They even have an instructor who comes in to do chair-based exercises, “if you don’t use it, you lose it!”*

For these community groups, the music makes all the difference. It creates the atmosphere for their boccia ball games, helps people connect. “There’s nothing like it, it really lifts and uplifts people.”* For older people facing loneliness or isolation, this chance to connect and remember is important; 

“You hear a song and you’re transported back in time to when you could move your hips or when you danced with your husband to a certain song when you were young.”*

For those with dementia, the musical reminiscence can help reconnect with their sense of self; “they may forget your name, but they will be able to sing a song and they remember the lyrics”.*

These community groups need internet to “add that little spark”* of music to their activities. Before the Get Box, they were hot-spotting on their phones with poor signal and a draining battery, or trying to use community centre Wi-Fi, which drops out. Without reliable internet, sometimes the atmosphere “loses its essence”* and they have to sing acapella. 

The Friends of Woodberry Down, a community group, are using a Get Box in a community centre for 60 visitors on a Tuesday and 30 visitors on a Friday, each week. The Amity Project London, their outreach arm, visits older adults in their community. This can be in sheltered accommodation, assisted living blocks or community centres. 

Now that these groups can take a Get Box, they have reliable, free, secure Wi-Fi. Their favourite thing about the Get Box is that it’s reliable, giving them “peace of mind” that they'll have internet. 

They like that the Get Box is small, not too heavy, easy to plug in and use. They even use it to have secure meetings in the community hubs; as a grassroots organisation, they don’t have premises, so being able to take private Wi-Fi wherever they go is great. 

For Friends of Woodberry Down, their main aim is to make people feel good. Local regeneration means many people have moved away, and those who stay are at greater risk of isolation. Each week, working with local partners, they give out 60 food bags and 25 essentials bags (things like soap, toilet paper, washing up liquid). On a “shoestring budget” the team are pleased to have free, reliable, portable internet.

“We’re so grateful for it. It’s opened up a new lease of life for us.”*

*all quotes are from staff of Friends of Woodberry Down

Friends of Woodberry Down is a partner of the Jangala Get Box programme, funded by VMO2. Data is provided by VMO2, in partnership with the National Databank.