EMS staff treat residents at old age home to a feast

ABOUT 140 elderly residents of Empilweni Old Age Home in Mthatha were treated like royalty by a group of emergency medical services (EMS) employees on Sunday.

More than 50 off-duty staff members of the EMS section inO R Tambo district donned their work uniforms and spent hours cooking sumptuous meals for the residents of the home on Father’s Day.

Acting manager for the EMS in the O R Tambo district, Ndumiso Nondela said they wanted to make a positive impact in the communities they served.

The staff members clubbed together and raised more than R5 000 from their own pockets, which they used to buy groceries for the home’s residents.

With smiles all over their faces, Empilweni residents were served breakfast, lunch and supper by the EMS staff.

“People mostly know us as people who only drive ambulances, but the point we are trying to put across is that we are also human beings first,” said Nondela. “We also want to make people aware of EMS as a career path that one can choose.”

With the Eastern Cape experiencing a surge in attacks on ambulances in recent years, Nondela said, in addition, they wanted to protect EMS workers by strengthening their relations with communities.

Yesterday, Mawande Mphakathi, the staff nurse at Empilweni, praised the EMS staff for their generosity and for extending a hand of compassion to residents of the home.

“It will help them see that they are loved by the broader society.” The home was funded by the Department of Social Development, but Mphakathi said they always appreciated help from organisations.

The residents themselves could not hide their admiration for the culinary skills of the EMS staffers. With a twinkle in her eyes, 68year-old Nora Magazi concurred with other residents that the EMS workers could venture into the hospitality industry if they wished to do so. “I am telling you, these are great chefs. They know their stuff better than our usual cooks,” she said.