Algoa Bay Council for the Aged is a registered non-profit organisation, and was founded in 1961 as an organisation for the support and upliftment of older persons residing in Gqeberha.
The main objective of the organisation is to render services that will enable older persons to remain active and independent in the community, providing alternatives to frail care and institutionalisation.
Algoa Bay Council for the Aged (ABCA) focuses in particular on older persons or grant recipients surviving on a state pension of R2090 per month, and especially those with little or no family support.
The ABCA staff members have made a call on the community, business sector, and ordinary citizens, to assist the elderly who are battling with the growing cost of living.
“Daily we face cases where our elderly beneficiaries are hungry and unable to afford groceries or basics like bread. They become silent victims of their shortfalls and a government system that has failed them. These cases are heart-wrenching!” said ABCA’s public relations officer, Christa Terblanche. “The elderly who do not have sufficient funds and external support to cope with living costs when on a SASSA pension receive donor support from our Services Centre in the form of midday meals and provided donor funds are available.
“With your assistance, we can make it possible. From as little as R30, you can provide one healthy meal to elderly people in dire need of a balanced meal from one of our service centres, situated at Buffelsfontein Village,” she added.
Terblanche said that for every R30 donated they can provide one hungry elderly person with a meal, and every R660 donated means they are able to provide one elderly person with 22 meals for a month.
“Just imagine what the impact could be with your help should we raise R100 000 or more for the Algoa Bay Council for the Aged meal fund for seniors!” she said.
ABCA takes care of a total of 550 residents and a total of 2 400 served across the board for all the services they provide. Although some of their elderly residents have a few family members around, they have quite a few with either no family, or family that has emigrated.
Some of these senior citizen’s most pressing needs are affordable housing for those in the community, for some of their more frail residents it is frail care that they cannot afford, and most of their residents need basic day-to-day groceries that have now gone far beyond their reach.
Apart from monetary donations, this is how the community can help:
- Sponsored transport to shopping centres, doctor’s visits, SASSA offices and church.
- Donation of wool to assist elderly with their charity knitting projects as they usually knit for abandoned babies, toddlers, disadvantaged schools, and hospitals.
- If you have the time and resources available, become a volunteer to assist elderly with cleaning their flats.
- Adopt sub-economic elderly and donate food, clothing, or toiletries
- Visit or adopt a lonely older person.
- Donation of fresh vegetables for the council’s two service centres situated at Buffelsfontein Village and Cuylerholme Rooms
- Elderly can join the Ambulance service for R45 per month. The community can sponsor elderly to receive the best possible care when needing health care assistance at the hospital.
- Donate clothing to the Algoa Bay Council for the Aged charity shop, Antiquity, which is situated at Buffelsfontein Village, inside the Eleanor Murray Service Centre on 17th Avenue, Charlo, Gqeberha.
- Become a regular ABCA debit order donor.
- Donate non-perishable food towards the ABCA Pantry.
For more information, contact the facility on 041 368 8434.
