TO provide a voice and fight for the rights of the aged to ensure a life of dignity. This has been the mandate of NPO, Elder’s Voice KZN, who have made great strides in the last five years in caring for society’s most vulnerable.
“Today we sit and reminisce, it has been five years since we started the Elders Voice, almost four years since our first home, and a year since we took occupation at the building at Thornhill House in Montclair,” said Elder’s Voice KZN founder, Joanne Herbst.
“Over years we have won numerous awards for our dedication and those are displayed with pride in our office. We are now fully licensed with all relevant government departments and are allowed to house 160 residents. We currently are housing 160 residents and have a small waiting list. This is a far cry from when we first started, helping the elderly from the boot of our cars.
“We have some wonderful house mothers at our larger homes and all our caregivers are registered with Department of Social Development and all have police clearances so this definitely gives one peace of mind. We also outsource caregivers to those who need assistance at home,” added Herbst.
She shared on how the organisation has grown through experience over the last few years. “We have learnt so much. We have joined forces with many governmental departments and signed a service level agreement with a large old age home KZN Care Association, through our new age ideas and their many years’ experience in the industry. We know we have stepped in right direction allowing our oldies security no matter how frail they become.
“We have however not changed our outlook on intimate living, and still have three homes in Amanzimtoti and we will when time is right find another building to create another wonderful little intimate village for our oldies, just like the building we found and renovated in Montclair. We will strive our utmost to uphold our ethos which is dignified shared living for pensioners who fall outside the basket and cannot afford the cost of old age homes. That is why we will remain a non-profit organisation,” she said, owing the organisation’s success to the undying support of the Amanzimtoti community.
As part of the organisation’s efforts to encourage self-sustainability among the elder’s in their care, various projects have been established to empower and keep them busy. These include growing vegetable gardens, arts and crafts projects, a charity shop in Warner Beach, Amanzimtoti and are almost ready to go online and to sell wares made by the oldies. The organisation has had its fair share of highs and lows, having celebrated its first Elder’s Voice wedding of Mike and Louise Percy on Valentine’s Day, 14 February and on the downside, being hit by the pandemic.
“Boy what a ride, we have experienced sorrow and during Covid-19 we lost four dear oldies to the dreaded virus,” said Herbst. “We are proud of how much we have achieved and how we have grown and been accepted into our communities.”
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