ON Thursday, October 6, The Association for the Aged (Tafta) hosted a combined sporting event at the Anna Conradie Centre in South Beach, Durban.
Pensioners from the four Tafta Wellness Centres (Mary Asher, Primrose, Anna Conradie and Oldfield) and Tafta on Ridge and Langeler Towers showed up in their numbers to represent their centres and homes to compete for the coveted Sports Day Trophy.
The event was hosted in commemoration of Week of Older Persons which is commemorated from September 27 to October 3 annually in South Africa to honour and pay tribute to seniors and raise awareness on issues that affect and impact them.
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Ahead of the games, lined up by Tafta’s Wellness Activity Coordinators, competing teams performed their war cry which filled the room with team pride and spirit; this was followed by games of three tins, bean-bag hoop, ball-over-ball-under, dress-up race, potato and spoon, and relay. The day ended with lunch, revelry and a prize-giving ceremony awarding first, second and third places for each game.
The host team, Anna Conradie Centre, were the overall victors of Tafta’s 2022 Sports Day and took home the Tournament Floating Trophy.
“This year, we saw an explosion of enthusiasm from our elders and staff after a two-year break in our annual Sports Day festivities. The Covid-19 period not only brought on anxiety, fear and exclusion, but also halted our combined events between different homes, leading to anticipation being built up for a time where we could all be together once again. It was heart-warming to see the celebration as staff and elders mingled and unified to make the day a success,” said divisional manager of Operations, Yoshina Kistensamy.
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Central Area Manager Yougendri Moodley thanked volunteers and donors who contributed, saying, “Our Sports Day would not have been a success without the hard work of our coordinators, staff, volunteers and the zest of our elderly participants.”
If you would like to contribute towards any of the activities lined up for older persons this month, please contact donations controller Neliswa Makhaza on 031 332 3721 or email pr@tafta.org.za.
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