Nursing students bring cheer to elderly

AS PART of their outreach programme, a group of the University of Fort Hare nursing students who are members of South African Nursing Students’ Association (Sansa) visited an old-age home in Parkside on Saturday.

Sansa chairman at UFH, Ntsikelelo Macingwane, said the purpose of the visit to The Haven wellness and community centre was to bring love to the residents. “They welcomed us with open arms and it gave us such joy to put a smile on their faces,” he said.

Macingwane and his team also educated the elderly citizens about illnesses such as tuberculosis, hypertension and cancer. “But the whole purpose was to make them feel loved and special,” he said.

Macingwane said they were all touched by how they were received. “We are just students, we do not have much, but we are very happy that they appreciated the little that we brought them,” he said.

The students also dished up food they had brought for the residents. But it was the singing that the patients seemed to have enjoyed most. Some danced. “It gave us motivation to do more for them and other community projects,” Macingwane said.

Eurina Stowwman, centre founder and project manager, said the patients could not stop talking about their visitors. “We really appreciate their efforts. They are young, they could have been anywhere enjoying themselves, but they decided to come and spend their time with our patients. What they have done is amazing. It is a good message for other people out there that you do not need large sums of money to make a difference in your community,” she said.

Stowwman said the patients were already asking when the students would visit again. “That goes to tell that they had a good time. Some of them do not get visited often. For them it is a big issue when they get visitors.”

Patients said the students had made them feel special.