• Several associations connect children with adoptive grandparents.

  • A way to break the loneliness of some seniors and children to expand their families.

    Links that are particularly valuable during this holiday season.

  • Gisèle recounts the relationship she forged with Lisa, 3 years old, thanks to the Manou Partage association.

The year's celebrations can quickly turn into depression for those who feel alone.

Because their family lives far away and cannot join them for Christmas, or their first circle is very small.

To fight against this loneliness, several associations, such as Manou Partages, Grands-Parrains and Parrains Par Mille, put children in contact with loving grandparents.

“Seniors who approach us sometimes don't have grandchildren, or they have grown up and they don't see them much anymore.

They want to share good times, pass on values ​​or give meaning to their retirement,” explains Sophie Charteau, founder of Manou Partages, created in Nantes in 2013. Her association can boast of having linked 97 families with a senior in Loire-Atlantique.

After the confinements, requests even poured in from all over France.

"I don't have a lot of money, but love to give"

Gisèle embarked on the adventure a year ago.

Yet she was already a grandmother of 8 grandchildren: “I love children and I wanted to modestly pass on my knowledge and culture to them.

I don't have a lot of money, but I have love to give,” she says.

Security obliges, the association first checked that Gisèle had no criminal record.

“We also ask the grandparents of heart and the families to write their project to form compatible tandems.

Then, we connect the parents with the grandparents of the heart so that a relationship of trust is woven.

And if all goes well, the child gets to know his adoptive grandpa or grandma,” describes Sophie Charteau.

Gisèle thus got to know the mother of Lisa, 3 years old, for several months, before finally discovering her granddaughter of heart.

“When I met her, she smiled at me and was immediately at ease,” she says.

Since then, the adoptive grandmother sees her little Lisa twice a month on average.

Not to mention all the phone calls they exchange!

“When we see each other, we read, we play hide and seek, we take a walk in the garden or in the media library.

And when we separate, the little one cries, ”says Gisèle.

The Manou Partages association also offers activities for loving grandparents to allow them to share their experiences.

“I want to see Lisa grow up”

“And generally, the family of heart is found at Christmas”, notes Sophie Charteau.

Gisèle has already bought presents for the little one: a doll and a book.

Attentions that could make Gisèle's grandchildren jealous, but this is not the case: "They know Lisa and adore her", confides the grandmother.

As for her, there is no need to be spoiled by her loving granddaughter: “She already brings me so much happiness.

Everything we share is very precious.

“The grandmother has also forged a nice relationship with Lisa's mother, with whom she exchanges good meals.

And no question that their relationship is ephemeral.

“I want to see Lisa grow up.

I would love to travel with her to Gabon, my country of origin,” she dreams.

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