At least 100 senior citizens from Ward 37 in Nyanga had the opportunity to breathe fresh air with a sea breeze aroma when they went on an outing to Muizenberg Civil Hall.
The “capacity building” outing on Thursday 18 May, was organised as part of the ward allocation budget for the ward. It was designed to capacitate and educate senior citizens about their rights and health.
Among the departments that attended the occasion were the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) and the City’s Department of Social Development, Sub-council 13 delegates and a representative from one of the leading banks in the country.
Councillor Sandile Martin said they felt that there was a need to take them out to empower them and relieve their stress at the same time. He said they were always served with lunch.
“There are a lot of things that these grandparents face in their families. Most of them look after their grandchildren while their children are galavanting on the streets,” he said, adding that they are always indoors and under pressure. “Some of them are sick and they have no one to take them to the clinic,” said Martin.
He said the aim was to educate the seniors about chronic illnesses and services available to them.
Social workers taught them about a range of subjects and illnesses including high blood pressure, diabetes and arthritis among others.
A representative from one of the country’s top banks informed the seniors about the importance of having a will, saying it helped to eliminate fighting among siblings.
“Sassa representatives educated them about their rights and the sub-council informed them about municipal discounts available for senior citizens when buying electricity and paying for water,” explained Martin.
He stated that the money that was paid for the event came from ward allocation. He declared that the event cost about R100 000 including venue, decoration, transport, catering etc. He said every financial year they will have a similar event. “The financial year starts on July 1 to June 30. In the next financial year, we will take another group of senior citizens. This is something that we will keep on doing,” he said, adding that it was the first time conducting such an event.
Nozipho Gquka (68), one of the senior citizens from Mkhonto, labelled the event as educational. She said she had a great time with her peers.
“It is always nice when we meet. We forget about the stresses that we have. We share jokes and give each other advice because we are all sick,” said Gquka.
However, she stated that it was important to leave the children with their fair share.
“What I’ve learned is the importance of having a will. It is bad when you die and you leave your children fighting each other over your belongings. It is important to have a will so that when you are gone there will be no fights about your stuff,” she explained.