When Juan Gualberto Barroso is asked how he thinks he reached his old age, his answer is immediate and without hesitation: I never thought I would last so long!
Nine years ago he underwent heart surgery and some time later he lost his wife. It was then that he decided to go to one of the two grandparents’ homes that operate today in the municipality of Consolación del Sur in the Pinar del Río province.
“I have been here for almost seven years. The truth is that I thought my old age was going to be worse. I live with my son and his wife, but they have to work, so I prefer to come and spend the day talking, playing dominoes or remembering times lived. I feel at home here.”
He is one of the 19 older adults who attend the “Primero de Enero” from Monday to Friday. Others, like Juan Gualberto, not only appreciate having a space to socialize, but also the careful attention they receive from everyone who works there.
AGING WITH QUALITY OF LIFE
Some grannies call Lázara Acosta Capote “the soul of the body”, because they say that when the director, who is also a social worker, arrives, they feel calm.
“To work with older adults, you first have to like it and the other thing is to have a lot of patience. You have to give yourself to this job. I always try to keep them active, some of them really like television, others I train their minds with various exercises, the same completing popular sayings, guessing the capitals of the countries and also making crafts, especially women” he refers Acosta Capote.
In this, as in the 5 de Septiembre house, located in the Villa Dos popular council, they have a nurse and constant visits from specialists in Geriatrics, Psychology, Defectology, Physiatry, and even receive occupational therapy.
In relation to food, the director points out that it is quite adequate, despite the complexities that the country is going through. In addition, they receive the support of the local government and non-state actors for the provision of other services that contribute to raising their quality of life.
“The food is good. It’s not much, but it’s well balanced and guaranteed. They receive breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as two snacks. What else do we want? Hopefully in Entronque de Herradura, where I live, there would be one of these houses”.
This is what Felina Leal Vázquez says, who every Thursday afternoon picks up her mother to be with her over the weekend and return her to town on Monday. Her son is in charge of taking care of the grandmother at night, and every morning she takes her to spend the days in the “Primero de Enero”.
“Since last September I have my mother and my aunt here. My brothers live in Havana and in Pinar, and I had no one to take care of them. So far it has been perfect, they are very well cared for and they love the place. I am very grateful for that, I hope it continues, otherwise I would not be able to work”, says Felina.
OF ORDERS AND NEEDS
After the fee to be paid at grandparents’ houses rose to the exorbitant figure of 793 pesos with the Ordering Task, many elderly people decided to stop attending. Between the two spaces that the municipality has, they did not reach 30, figures that did not even come close to covering the templates.
“Working with the elderly has its particularities. So little by little we developed a joint promotion work in the communities and many have rejoined.
“Today the places are almost covered. In the “5 de Septiembre”, of a staff of 45, 35 attend, and in this we have 19 of 25, which is the capacity. Many of the quotas are assumed, in part, by social assistance, since we know that the pensions of the majority are not enough for them,” explains Dr. Rodobaldo Díaz, an official who attends the programs for the Elderly, Mental Health and Social Work in Consolaro territory. .
It adds that, together with Pinar del Río, Consolación del Sur is one of the oldest municipalities in the province with 19,273 older adults and a population aging rate of 21.8 percent.
“Right now there are three social cases in the municipality with an extreme need to go to a nursing home, because they have no family and their care is difficult for us. We have more than 20 files made for the nursing home and we have no answer.
“Those situations motivated us to carry out a local development project that consists of adapting a place to become a home for the elderly. We would not want it to be the solution, since the ideal would be to increase fertility and birth rates, but despite the fact that progress is being made, we are still far from what is desired ”, he notes.
According to the official, the project is already approved pending the arrival of financing. This facility would provide a regional service to the municipalities of Los Palacios, La Palma, Consolación and would support Pinar del Río.
The benefits with which the grandparents’ houses were created are reflected today in the careful attention that these elderly people from Consolare receive. More than guaranteeing them food, it helps them embrace old age and fill spaces that, over time, have become empty.
