Volunteers from the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) yesterday visited the Chase’s Indigent Home and the St Thomas More Men’s Hostel to interact with senior citizens and offer basic assistance to them.
As Guyana commemorates World Accreditation Day under the theme ‘Supporting the Delivery of Health and Social Care,’ the GNBS gathered a team of volunteers to visit the two retirement homes and clean them up. It also donated hampers to the residents.
When Stabroek News visited St Thomas More hostel on Lamaha Street, Kitty yesterday afternoon, residents were busily interacting with the volunteers. The 21 residents were given hampers.
Caregiver Viola Charles told Stabroek News that the residents were thankful for the kind gesture and would be looking forward to seeing more such volunteer groups visiting. She said the residents were always glad to have people to interact with.
GNBS Public Relations Officer Lloyd David said the voluntary visit is being carried out to show these residents that they are not forgotten.
“We thought that since the theme has to do with social care it would be nice to perform a gesture to these homes. We are going to see what we can do for them and we will try to do it. We want to interact with them to show them that people still care about them,” he said.
Twenty-one GNBS staff volunteered to visit these homes. David said those who agreed to participate were very enthusiastic about it.
Residents at the Chase’s Indigent Home were a little less enthusiastic about the clean-up exercise. Matron of the home, Beryl Austin, 92, stated that the building was in such a deplorable condition there was no use cleaning it up.
“They don’t need to clean it up, someone needs to get us out of here,” Austin said. “Please don’t misunderstand us, we are grateful for what they are trying to do but the real problem here is that we need to get out,” she added.
The volunteer group interacted with the female residents and gave them all hampers.
Austin stated that the building is not only falling apart but it has become the hub for vandalism. “In the nights we can hear people walking in the passageway of the house and we know it’s not rats. Look recently they steal a pump that was donated to us to pump up water,” she said.
She said the residents have resorted to fetching water from downstairs again. “It’s not safe here anymore,” she added.
