30 participants complete first GGAD/DCOA ‘Care for the Elderly’ training session (with photos)

Thirty individuals on island have completed and have been awarded certificates for completing the first ‘Care for the elderly training session, hosted by the Girls Guide Association of Dominica (GGAD) in collaboration with the  Dominica Council of Ageing (DCOA).

During a recently held certification ceremony, GGAD Chief Commissioner Valencia Webb highlighted that the association partnered up with the DCOA and wrote a project proposal to Canada fund for local initiatives for funding to facilitate the caregivers’ program.

The main goal of the project she stated was to train the 20 caregivers who were nominated by DCOA as well as 20 young women, including guides, rangers and young leaders.

Following the approval of the funds, the team met virtually and later face to face and were trained on a series of topics to include:

  • the stages of Life
  • nutrition for the elderly
  • meal planning
  • helpful habits to delay common diseases plaguing the elderly
  • profile of the caregiver
  • living condition of the elderly
  • physical activity
  • social interaction
  • mental-emotional functioning
  • independence
  • quality of life
  • monitoring health condition and dealing with a health crisis
  • massage demonstration.

“Although many participants will be introduced to virtual technology for the first time, their participation and interaction were very satisfactory,” Webb informed. “Overall the training achieved its objectives and organizers and participants are already looking forward to another collaborative event.”

Addressing the ceremony, Vice President of the DCOA Nigel Lawrence emphasized that one of the best ways of ensuring that the elderly live a wholesome life is through training such as theses, which he says will bridge the gap between the old and the young.

“This program is so important because it guarantees that when we leave, we can be guaranteed that there are younger guides coming on, and they will be able to take over and do a better job than we are presently doing,” he said.

According to Lawrence,  given the changes in technology and the standards of society opportunities such as these should be embraced wholeheartedly, and called on the various organisations on island to adopt such initiatives.

“You see before we used to take care of persons and take a lot of things for granted today that cannot be accepted because the norms have changed and therefore it is important that all persons who are involved in taking care of the elderly put themselves up to date with the latest technology and the latest demands,” the DCOA VP stressed.

“Therefore, I would like to say that we need to always observe that change is inevitable. And if change is inevitable, we have to live up to that standard…we cannot go back to the old days,” he added.

As also explained by GGAD international Commissioner Josette Seraphine Hedrington,

Girls guide leaders who took the course will pass on the knowledge to their unit which will result in a cadre of young individuals knowledgeable on how to properly care for the elderly.

Providing her feedback on the course, GGAD Guide leader Myrtle Riviere highlighted that one of the main takeaways that she earnt from the course is that “I should, and we should all take care of ourselves in order to take care of the gems of our country, the elderly.”

“The elderly are always and will always be special in our lives. And we must give them in return the best. I was also reminded of the importance of getting and giving enough and good nutrition, sleep, rest, and also to show love and compassion and patience, as these would be great assets in giving back to those who took care of us when we were much younger,” she made known.

Plans are presently being drafted for the training of a second cohort of participants.

 

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2 Comments

  1. lmckoy
    December 11, 2021

    There are a least two critical items that were not mentioned in the listed topics:
    1. Elder abuse;
    2. Theft from the elderly.
    These are two of the the most critical issues facing the elderly so how can you provide training without dealing with these topics?

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