Centre for the elderly in Malvern to ensure their safety
The group currently has over 50 elderly members who are from Malvern and surrounding areas.
Recently, a video of a 76-year-old woman lying on a tiled Mamelodi Day Hospital floor while cuffed to a bench caused outrage when it circulated on social media.
This video showed the realities of many elderly people who are neglected and abused.
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Fraser Thabete, co-ordinator of the Adopt-A-Gogo-Mkhulu Foundation, said elderly abuse is a serious issue and there is not enough awareness about it.
He said he is proud so see an elderly woman like Teddy Dlamini in Malvern taking a stand and doing something about the issue.
She has started a service centre in Malvern called Abide With Us Home of Peace, where elderly people can visit once a week.
She said there is a need in the Malvern and surrounding areas for an old age home and that is what she hopes to achieve.
“I’m old myself but still very active. I’m sad when I see other elderly people who are abused, inactive and not taking care of themselves. That is one of the reasons I opened my home to the elderly. That way we can assist them and make their lives better,” said Dlamini.
She has been living in the Malvern community for five years and noticed a lack of meeting facilities for the elderly.
“Some elderly people in the area are abused by the family or the community. Some don’t have proper living spaces because they don’t have money. It broke my heart and my husband and I, with the help of Thabethe, came together to start a service centre where our seniors can meet and offer support to one another,” said Dlamini.
Thabethe said he loved the idea because it was in line with the Department of Social Development’s programme, the Adopt-A-Gogo-Mkhulu Foundation.
The aim of the programme is for community members to adopt elderly people at risk in terms of safety and the community members are expected to conduct regular visits to their respective homes to ensure protection.
“Dlamini has identified a need for elderly people in Malvern and is offering them renewed hope. They now get to meet with each other and have a platform to share their challenges,” said Thabethe.
The group currently has over 50 elderly members who are from Malvern and surrounding areas.
The group meets every Wednesday and engage in different activities. They also have projects that will generate money for the group.
“We want to generate money so that the project can be self-sustainable,” said Dlamini.
The projects that they hope will generate money include selling traditional meat, sewing rain-coats and a establishing vegetable garden.
The service centre was set up two months ago and is in need of assistance from the community.
They need donations of five industrial sewing machines, a gas stove, cooking utensils, transport and food.
Dlamini said she is grateful for the support she has been receiving from Lethukhanya Health Institution, Malvern High School and Adopt-A-Gogo-Mkhulu Foundation.
Thabethe urged the community to be vigilant and report any elderly abuse.
“We need to take care of the elderly and protect them.”
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