4 October 2017
International Older Persons Day was celebrated on Sunday, 1 October 2017. On St Helena, invited guests were able to celebrate a day of activities with residents of Deason’s Centre, Cape Villa and the Princess Royal Community Care Centre.
The United Nations theme for 2017 is ‘Stepping into the Future:Tapping the Talents, Contributions and Participation of Older Persons in Society’.
Director of Safeguarding, Matt Ansell, said:
“This year’s theme is about enabling and expanding the contributions of older people in their families, communities and societies at large. As we continue our work, the directorate will be focusing on the pathways that support full and effective participation in old age, in accordance with older persons’ basic rights, needs and preferences.”
The day started with lunch and dessert at 12 noon followed by bingo. At 3pm, invited guests arrived and Matt gave a short welcome speech. A high tea was then served followed by demonstrations of old time dances, music for dancing, line dancing and a few party games. A great time was had by all and laughter echoed the building throughout the afternoon.
Special thanks are extended to Sylvia Jonas who organised the day’s activities and was the driving force in making the day a huge success. Thanks are also extended to the following people:
- Jeremy Johns who did everything from baking the beautiful cake to calling bingo and providing the music for the event
- Solomon & Company (St Helena) Plc, Serena’s Gift Shop, Debbie Leo, The Hive Shop, Bliss Hair Salon, Essence Beauty Salon and the Blue Lantern who donated so generously towards the prizes for the day’s activities
- Alex Vanguard, Merlin George, Cedric Henry, Brian Constantine, John Stevens and Vincent and Vilma March who regularly come into the CCC throughout the year to entertain the residents with their musical talents
- Melvin Benjamin, Keith Joshua and Alison Wade for their very generous donation of and transporting a cooked meal for all residents free of charge
Finally, a huge ‘thank you’ to Brian Ellick and his team for the lovely two course meal and other scrumptious snacks, the Nursing Care Staff, Activity Workers and everyone else who gave up their time to help on the day. This was a great example of successful teamwork.
#StHelena #InternationalOlderPersonsDay
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SHG
4 October 2017