SAVF Vryheid wins top award

AT THE SAVF Kongres in October 2014 held at Drakensville, the Vryheid branch of the organisation received the Aged and Disabled Care of the year 2014 award. Jubileum Tehuis and Bhekuzulu Service Centre share the reward.

SAVF renders services in five provinces – KZN, Limpopo, Gauteng, Mpumalanga and North West. The focus is on children, families, older persons and community work, with the main focus on poverty and HIV. In the SAVF are 34 homes for the aged and disabled, 53 housing schemes and 17 service centres. So Vryheid’s achievement in this huge organisation is a wonderful “feather in the cap” of all involved.

The SAVF renders services to the elderly by means of care, support, health care, feeding, empowerment and enabling. In Vryheid there is the Jubileum Old age Home, Rusoord Housing Scheme and two service centres, rendering services to the older persons in Vryheid, Bhekuzulu and Lakeside.

Said SAVF’s Manager in Vryheid, Marietjie Cronjé, “This award is a big honour for us”. She thanked the staff, the volunteers and the community for their dedication, assistance and support of the SAVF’s facilities in Vryheid.

Marietjie skryf, “Jubileum Tehuis het tans 95 inwoners wat 24 uur versorging ontvang. Ons streef daarna om afgesien van fisiese versorging ook die bejaardes se lewens te verryk en lewenskwaliteit te verbeter tydens hul verblyf in die tehuis.

“In the past homes have been concerned about fulfilling only needs like safety, security and physical well-being. But for the past few years the focus has shifted to include pleasure, fun, relationships and dignity, in other words the ability to live a full life as far as possible. To accomplish this, the input of every member of the staff, residents, family members, volunteers and other professionals who visit the home are required.

“In die tehuis word klubs aangebied deur vrywilligers op ‘n weeklikse basis, bv kunsklub, musiekklub, boekklub, brei en naaldwerkklub en oefenklub. Groepwerk wat fokus op sensoriese stimulasie, speletjies, oefeninge, bederf, ens word op ‘n daaglikse basis deur die maatskaplike werker en gesondheidswerkers aangebied.

“Personeel fokus ook op individuele aktiwiteite met bejaardes volgens hul behoeftes. Ons maak gebruik van die dienste van ‘n maatskaplike werker, arbeidsterapeut en biokinetikus. Die maatskaplike werker bied ook aan die gesondheidswerkers ‘n ondersteuningsgroep waar hulle die geleentheid kry om probleme en uitdagings wat hulle ondervind te bespreek.

“Ons poog ook om ‘n huislike en aangename voorkoms en atmosfeer in die tehuis te skep. Die mooi tuine, putt-putt bane, eende dammetjies, gekleure bankies in die tuine, groot nuut aangeboude stoep, verseker dat die publiek, kinders en kleinkinders graag die tehuis besoek en kom kuier. Die koffiewinkel, Suikerbekkie, waar besoekers en inwoners kan gaan kuier is ook ‘n groot aanwins vir die Tehuis en dra by tot die aangename en rustige atmosfeer.”

“Ons wil van die geleentheid gebruik maak om ons personeel te bedank vir die eksta myl wat hulle altyd bereid is om te loop. Dankie ook aan die vrywilligers en die gemeenskap vir hul diens en betrokkenheid by ons organisasie. Sonder hulle sou ons nie hierdie noodsaaklike diens kon lewer nie. Bowenal is ons dankbaar teenoor ons Hemelse Vader wie se seën en guns ons geniet.”

The Bhekuzulu Sentrum renders a service to 277 older persons who stay in the Bhekuzulu and Lakeside community. A home-based care service to 132 older persons is carried out daily by health care workers, mostly on foot. The home base care service includes meals, cleaning of rooms, washing of clothes, wound care, exercises advise and monitoring of medication. At the service centre members benefit from services: transport to the centre, meals, clinic service, activities, socialisation, vegetable garden, empowerment and enabling programs and training.