The SAVF Fochville Retirement Village officially opened an upgraded facility that offers more options for independent pensioners seeking privacy and comfort.

The new Agape Vleuel (wing) was opened on April 6. This wing is a revamped building that had previously been a hall with six-bed sections.

Thanks to a donation by the Agapé Foundation, a non-profit organisation from Fochville, it has been transformed into a more private wing for elderly individuals who are not frail but no longer as strong as they used to be.

The new wing includes senior-friendly features such as higher-set electrical plugs to assist residents who have difficulty bending, and shower controls with external levers that allow users to set the water temperature before stepping in.

According to the Agapé Foundation’s chairperson, Dr Wouter de Wet, the organisation wanted to help elderly people in the area, as they are already helping, amongst others, some schools and the Ubuntu Centre in Kokosi.

During the opening, the CEO of the SAVF, Adriaan Raubenheimer, hailed the SAVF Fochville Retirement Village as an example for its other retirement homes.

“Everything that we are still talking about has already been implemented here,” he said.

According to Lynette Eybers, the manager of the retirement village, all six rooms in the revamped area are already occupied, which shows the need among the elderly for such facilities.

Because of this, the retirement village is considering building even more such rooms. The Fochville Retirement Village currently houses a total of 258 pensioners in various forms of accomodation.