What would you have done …

… if you found out about a 73-year-old woman in your neighbourhood who wasn’t well? Who suffers from hypertension, cataracts and chronic pain. And that, instead of caring for their mom, her two adult sons took her pension money for themselves – leaving her without food and other necessities.

When taken to task, the sons disappeared, abandoning their mom to cope on her own. Shortly afterwards, she suffered a stroke which left her semi-paralysed and incontinent.

Mrs S can’t even get out of bed and move to a chair without help – let alone prepare and eat meals, wash and dress herself, or get to the toilet. Worse, was the way she felt. So alone, frightened and helpless.

All her life she’d been the strong one. After her divorce, she raised three young children on her own. With only a Grade 8 education, she found a job and worked hard to provide her kids with a comfortable home and everything they needed.

Now, she’s the one who needs help. She can’t do anything by herself anymore and needs round-the-clock nursing care. But she can’t afford to pay for this level of care.

So we did what you would have done … what anyone with compassion and concern would do. We opened our hearts and our doors to her, and gave her a home at Tafta.

Despite her physical frailty, Mrs S can still enjoy a meaningful life. She is safe and comfortable here. She has the companionship of others and kind and compassionate staff to look after her.

 

Donate button

But, there’s no getting away from the fact that 24-hour frail care is extremely costly. That’s why we need help from caring people like you. Please join our ‘Guardian Angels’ to ensure that there’s always someone to watch over and protect elders in distress.

Your monthly Guardians contribution helps provide the high level of care that people like Mrs S need. If you can donate R250 monthly, it pays for incontinence wear to provide dignity and comfort to a frail elder. R500 helps ensure ‘your’ elder gets nutritious meals every day. And R1 000 helps provide nursing care.

Any amount you feel moved to give is a blessing to someone like Mrs S.

If you put yourself in her shoes for a moment, you’ll understand just how much your kindness means. It’s like finding a ray of sunshine on the darkest day … a warm hug when you feel so alone.

Please be that ray of sunshine, by joining Tafta’s Guardian programme now.