Nyanga elders enjoy festive cheer, education and support at Claremont event

• Over 100 senior citizens from Ward 37 in Nyanga were treated to entertainment, gift and educational talks during a festive event.
• Speakers from Nedbank discussed the importance of wills and easy-pay accounts, while City nurses promoted healthy eating.
• Attendees, like Nomalungelo Mabhidla, praised the event for its educational and social benefits, though some highlighted ongoing challenges like caregiving responsibilities for grandchildren.

Christmas came early for the senior citizens from Ward 37 in Nyanga as they were entertained and showered with gifts by their councillor on Friday 6 December.

At least 100 senior citizens attended the gathering at Claremont Civic Hall in Claremont.

Ward councillor Sandile Martin said the event was only dedicated to the senior citizens. He said the aim was to entertain them and forget about their challenges.

Some of the senior citizens sitting and having fun in the hall during the event.

“We also had Nedbank employees who were educated them about the importance of having a will and encouraged them to open easy pay accounts in order to get paid their grants directly to them instead of standing in the long queues during pay day. There were also nurses from the City promoting healthy eating to prevent having high blood pressure, gout, diabetes etc,” explained Martin.

“Part of their presents was a box of biscuits, fleece, sweets etc. On top of that, we chose two oldest senior citizens from both genders and they were given bucket presents,” he said, adding that the event cost R100 000 from the ward allocation.

One of the elders Nomalungelo Mabhidla (75) from Lusaka described the event as educational.

She said she learnt a lot during the short time they spent together.

“We were told about the importance of having a will to avoid the infight among the children. We also had time to socialise and share our challenges. We had fun,” said Mabhidla.

READ MORE | World AIDS Day event highlights HIV awareness and GBV connection

However, she complained about their children leaving them with the grandchildren citing that they can’t rest.

“I worked as a kitchen girl for 23 years in Killarney. I am now suppose to have my time now, but I can’t because I have to look after my grandchildren because their parents are all over,” said Mabhidla.