The Aryan Benevolent Home (ABH) for the aged in Glencoe will not be closing down anytime soon.
So said board members Naveen Rajkumar and Dion Sadaw as rumours of its imminent closure began circulating.
Concerns regarding the running of the home were highlighted at a recent community meeting where the apparent lack of an annual general meeting (AGM) was top of the agenda.
However, Rajkumar, chairperson of the ABH Board, told the Courier that because the ABH falls under the Durban ABH (which is the ABH’s central office,) and its procedure applies to all branches under the head office – therefore there was no need for an AGM for the Glencoe home, as they are not a constituted stand-alone board.
It was also alleged that the ‘closure of the home was imminent due to the Home having no funds to run it.
“This is scary, because what will happen to all those vulnerable residents and the staff members?” questioned one person who attended the community meeting. He added that besides the last fund-raising event, which happened after the first petition, there haven’t been any fund-raising initiatives from the current board members.
“The ABH board members have been digging into the home’s savings to make ends meet.” Concerns over the lack of fund raising activities were also raised.
Turning to financial issues, Rajkumar commented that ‘we cannot deny that times are tough financially everywhere, but we can assure everyone that the ABH will not be closing down anytime soon; not if we can help it.’
He added that R7500 a month is needed to ensure that residents’ needs are catered for, including toiletries.
“The ABH needs to generate its own income apart from the government’s subsidy and the residents’ pension grant. We have been raising funds to run the Home in terms of fund-raising and we currently had one in Ladysmith. The next one will be in Pietermaritzburg,” he explained.
Community members also voiced that they are not allowed to volunteer their time and spend some time with the residents, nor are they allowed to give any form of sponsorship towards the home.
“There was a case where we had cooked food for the residents and wanted to give to the ABH as a donation, and we were turned away,” said a member of the public not wishing to be named. “Which facility ever turns food away?”
Regarding visitation and sponsorship of food, Rajkumar and Sadaw said in one breath that the Home will always welcome any sort of donation; however, a procedure needs to be followed.
“Visits by family members or the community are planned ahead of time and regarding food donations, if anyone wants to sponsor a meal, they need to come in and speak to our administrator, who will explain in detail the residents’ needs and since we have frail residents, their food has to be considerably mild,” they said.
Many other concerns were raised at the meeting, including the residents’ daily food menu, staff, and residents being threatened when they want to raise their grievances and a petition that was never acted upon by the board.
“We have also been told by residents who have since moved out of the home that management changes their chronic medication as they see fit and in most instances, the Home doesn’t have glucose strips or needles to check their glucose level,” explained another resident who wished to remain anonymous.
“As far as we know, none of the residents or staff have any grievances that have not been addressed at management level or by us.
Umzinyathi senior citizens representative, Yasmin Sukhai spoke on behalf of the frail, claimed that two petitions had been signed by members of the public regarding this matter. “The first petition was handed to the board members in July last year and no response was received from them,” she stated. Sukhai added that in August, the CEO of the Home met up with a local councillor, but claimed that the meeting was ‘fruitless’.
According to the community members, they reached out to the Department of Social Services at local and provincial level regarding this matter and nothing has been done
In response, Rajkumar stated that they (the Board) as well as the CEO of the Home asked for the original petition with signatures and they did not receive it, they were also not invited to the recent community meeting.
Regarding staff and residents being threatened, he stated that they have separate meetings with the residents and the staff, where concerns are discussed.
“As far as we know, none of the residents or staff have any grievances that have not been addressed at management level or by us.”
Following the meeting, the Courier visited the ABH and spoke to a few residents. One of them, not wanting to named, she has been there for 20 years and according to her, she is enjoying her stay.
“I have been here for a very long time and honestly, like any other Home, there have been hiccups along the way, but nothing was ever left unresolved.”
She concluded that they enjoy their stay, as it’s a home away from home.
