U3A visits Randfontein

The University of the Third Age (U3A) focuses on people aged 50 years and older. Allowing them to get out and connect with others.

On April 19, the U3A went to Randfontein to visit an olive farm and have some lunch, after which they visited a bonsai plant supplier.

Also read: Phakamisa Elderly Organisation outreach

According to Marthie Coetzer, many of their members reside in old age homes and only live in a room, by joining the U3A they get a chance to get out of that room and experience new things.

Once a month, they attend events across the West Rand and even Pretoria and Johannesburg. The events range from bus tours to visiting olive farms and admiring bonsai trees. They also get speakers to talk to the members regarding various subjects. They also get together for lunches.

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Each member pays R70 a year, the rest is self-funded by the organisation. All make use of their own transport, however, if necessary this can also be arranged.

The West Rand branch of U3A is one of the smaller sized branches, with around 100 to 150 members, by the time it is finished, there are also different interest groups within the U3A, for example, a reading group, a knitting group, and a walking group.

“They’re trying to form these interest groups to get like-minded people together to get out of their homes, to interact with other people, and that’s important, especially as people get older, a lot of them are not mobile. And some of them suffered from bad depression because they’re on their own, and they’re very isolated. And this is just to open up, to let them enjoy things that maybe they would never do,” Stanley Stein, one of the committee members concluded.

For more information contact Brian Clark on 083 258 8481 or bc59584@gmail.com.