‘Youth group’ for seniors

A community initiative with a cultural focus is opening doors across Auckland for aged citizens.

Pacific peoples’ charity Vaka Tautua successfully ran the ‘Empowering Senior (65+) Communities’ initiative last year. It has received funding from Auckland Council for the second time under its seniors programme and ran for just over a month recently.

On Mondays, participants attended workshops, with guest speakers from groups including St John, the police and the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC).

Fridays were dedicated to outdoor trips, such as the recent visit to New Lynn’s West Lynn Gardens by the Tongan and Niuean group from Ōtara.

They had a day filled with singing and laughter as they explored the gardens’ glasshouse filled with butterflies and native plants, as well as the outdoor trail.

Vaka Tautua project coordinator Pennysa Tipelu, who accompanied the group, said it was a great way to encourage elders to feel more involved and confident.

“What we found out about our seniors is that most of them are living independently. So the ones in rest homes, they have regular programmes that run for them and the ones who are living in the community don’t get that opportunity,” said Mrs Tipelu.

“We wanted to create these events to acknowledge seniors that are living independently within the community – that they exist – and it’s just like a youth group.”

Louisa Lavakula, coordinator of the Tupuna Niue Group believed the events gave seniors the motivation to venture out within their communities, instead of families keeping them at home.

“In the community, during retirement, people felt that [seniors] are not available for things or their health could be a problem for them, but they [seniors] should continue with their social and active lifestyle even after retirement,” said 68-year-old Mrs Lavakula.

The recipient of the Queen’s Service Medal in 2010 for her years of service within the community said she still found ways to broaden her knowledge on how to serve seniors.

For her, the event was a way to find out what signs to be aware of in looking after the elderly.

But for Sione Vadikani, 85, the event was an opportunity to get out of the house and explore the gardens and see plants he’d never seen before. “I learnt a lot from the group and learnt how to make friends, and I enjoyed the trip very much,” said Mr Vadikani.

The festivities ended in prayer and song as the Tongan and Niuean groups came together to celebrate their cultures.