Young At Heart

Expanding on the topic of elderly abuse, this issue has not been given much attention by many. Often, we do not recognize the abuse that the elderly experience due to the lack of attention from family members, friends, or even the media. However, it is a fact that elders are being abused physically, mentally, emotionally, and through different kinds of fraud acts. Often, these incidents happen in their own homes, or in the nursing homes that some elderly stay at. Moreover, these different kinds of abuse are done by employees in nursing homes, the elder's spouse, children, or even their grandchildren. Additionally, it is more common for elders who have severe illnesses, like dementia or Alzheimer's, to get financially abused or get stolen from the different people they interact with because at the end of the day, they do not remember anything. With this issue increasing around our area, Monisha and I hope to make a difference by taking the opportunity to help out and make relationships with elders that will make them feel more loved and appreciated. Also, I am looking forward to use this chance to gain some personal experiences for myself with the elders and to be able to use these experiences to teach me to value the elders around me, like my parents and grandparents.

For our second day of volunteering, we first helped out hold an arts and crafts activity with the elders. We made butterflies using magazines paper, pipe cleaners, and strings. With this activity, we were able to see how amazed the elders get and how much fun they can have with simple and small activities like this one. During this hour, we bonded with the similar elders that we met the first time we volunteered at that place, like Mary. In fact, Mary even took me upstairs to her room to hang her butterflies. Going in her room, I was amazed at what I saw. In every wall, there was some kind of picture of her family. Once again, she repeated all the the stories that she told me about her family from the first time we volunteered, which I thought was cute. At times, I was even completing her sentences for her since I already knew what she was going to say. After the arts and crafts with the elders, Monisha and I, along with two other volunteers, set up for the movie night that the elders have at 6pm every night. Then, for a short period of time, all 4 of us hung out with a group of elders and did some crosswords with them. Finally, when 5pm struck, it was dinner time for the elders so we took the time to help out the kitchen staff to serve the elders. During this hour, it was a fun and tiring experience. While serving, we made small conversations with different elders from different tables. While I was serving, I even had a conversation with one of the elders about boys and how much they are a waste a time. This was something very entertaining to me because I felt like I was having a regular conversation with one of my close friends.

Overall, this volunteering work was something fulfilling. Even though I came home tired and hungry, I felt a sense of awe. It kept replaying in my head how two of the elders were picking on each other like they were teenagers while we were doing some crosswords. In this experience, I learned that even though people grow old and get weaker, they still act and think like we do. In fact, I feel like we underestimate how elders are actually "cool" people to hangout with. It is amazing to be able to gain relationships with the elders we met and I am looking forward to build on these relationships on our next volunteer works.

                                                 The chairs we set up for the movie night.

                                                   The butterflies we made with the elders.