05 Nov 2020

The realisation of a gap in adult care has led Ms Chawada Enyatseng to establish There 4U Elderly Day Care Centre. 

Prior to establishing There 4U, situated at Tlokweng Extension 12, Ms Enyatseng worked in various institutions as a nurse, midwife, and also coordinated the Home Based Care programme in the greater Gaborone areas for a lengthy period.

In an interview recently, Ms Enyatseng said while coordinating the Home Based Care programme, she identified gaps in the adult care domain. 

She observed that the elderly were not well taken care of as ‘most care takers of elderly people are young adults engaged in social activities and professions that kept them away from home the whole day and only return in the evening’.

 Ms Enyatseng also observed that elderly people spend most of the time alone with no one to talk to or to give them necessary attention, which often resulted in them becoming depressed.

She said although others were left under the care of the house maids, it became difficult for the maids to balance between domestic errands and giving elders the necessary attention.

Ms Enyatseng further said in some instances, elderly people would be left with no one to ensure their safety and to ensure they do not miss their medical checkups.

 “During home visits, there were times when I would find some elderly people alone, speaking alone while others would be wandering about,” she said.

Ms Enyatseng said in the long run elderly people ended up suffering from Dementia, a condition where by one continuously speak alone hallucinating and talking about scenarios that did not exist.

She said whenever such instances occurred those taking care of the elderly would associate it with witchcraft or assume that elders were mentally unstable or seek unnecessary attention.

“Taking care of elders should not only be about providing a clean environment and a balanced diet, these people also need a constant  attention, they want to hold conversations, engage in minor physical activities that will help them reminisce about their  yesteryears,” she said.

There 4U was born, purposely to close the identified gaps, and opened its doors for the elderly in 2015.

She said the core mandate at There 4U Elderly Day Care Centre was to provide a social and engaging environment where stimulation activities and conversation appropriate to individual needs were availed.

She said they also provided personal centred care, compassion to those who require support and supervision during the absence of the care takers.

“At the centre elders hold conversation, interact and those who are able to engage in minor physical activities such as gardening and crafting  are allowed to do so, we also do bible study and several other activities,” she said.

Ms Enyatseng also said those with routine medical checkup were assisted to see their respective doctors on given dates.

She further noted that she worked closely with different medical experts to assist the elders when the need arise. Additionally, she said they also engaged in house to house calls whenever her services other services such as counselling and massages are needed.

Ms Enyatseng emphasised that There 4U Elderly Day Care Centre was not a retirement home but was a centre where elders are dropped off for a day and picked in the evening.

Prior to COVID-19 outbreak the centre hosted more than 20 adults on a daily basis and due to the safety measures, they were still on halt with private care takers from the centre doing home visits. Initially most of her clients were whites.

She said that was mainly due to societal beliefs that when people get old, other family members would provide a helping hand in taking care of them.

It is also a norm that elderly people relocate to the cattle post or at the lands. Moreover, she said cultural perceptions prevented families from taking elders to day care centres.

Ms Enyatseng said of late, these beliefs and perceptions are fading away. “Current social lives allowed people to accommodate elderly day care centers, most care takers spend most of the time away from home,” she said.

She said this called for the need to pursue alternative to ensure the safety of elders whenever their care takers were committed in their professional and other social related matters.

Although passionate about taking care of elders and spending most of her time with them, Ms Enyatseng admitted that it was not an easy task but required resilience and necessary patience to pull through. 

Meanwhile Public Health Specialist at MSBL clinic in Gaborone, Dr Ntombizodwa Bala said Dementia is a collection of health conditions that causes abnormal brain changes.

 Dr Bala said Dementia gradually developed and affected elder people in the late 60s upwards and can be severe enough to impair cognitive abilities.

She said as people grew old they naturally developed memory loss and tend to be less active in some physical and stimulation activates.

However Dr Bala said people confused Dementia with mental illness, and it took time for those who take care of elders to realise it at an early stage.

She said in most cases those who suffered from Dementia develop strange behavior and once such happened they should not be dismissed that they act so because of old age.

She said although there was no cure for Dementia, it was important to keep elders engaged in activities that improve their wellbeing and that gave them a sense of belonging. ends