Adopt a Granny going strong
George Municipality’s Adopt a Granny Programme is alive in the community, says Debra Sauer, municipal spokesperson. The programme entails youth community peer educators or fieldworkers, providing a care service to the many elderly people who are left alone during the day without any support.
“This can be elderly who live alone, are neglected or live with family but are home alone during the day,” says Sauer. The programme is currently taking place in Rosemoor, Pacaltsdorp, Blanco, Thembalethu, Lawaaikamp, Parkdene, Conville and Borcherds.
Jonel Kerspuy, the Youth Office coordinator at the municipality, says two supervisors and 17 peer educators facilitate door-to-door outreaches, collecting information and completing survey forms that are used to determine where elder care is needed. Services are delivered on a regular basis. “Care services will include the basic cleaning of the houses of the elderly, cooking at times, fetching of their medication at the respective clinics and assistance to the hospital, checking up whether they have taken their medication and eaten, pampering services, recreational games, such as walking exercises, card and board games”. The services provided vary from area to area. Each team decides what is needed and where to engage with the community in each area, based on information gathered during the doorto-door outreaches. In a special monthly project, each of the Adopt a Granny peer educators from the different areas identifies a house and family in need, where they do cleaning in and outside of the identified house, in order to restore dignity to the occupants as well as the community.
“These young people also report general problems and challenges, which they pick up from within their own communities relating specifically to the elderly, thereby increasing the reach of the programme,” says Sauer.