Info

In most Western countries the elderly have homes, centers and care workers readily available for them. However, in Colombia there is very little or no financial help from the government to help their own elderly people.

Once again due to war, neglect, poverty and disease, families may find themselves living in homes with up 8, 9, 10 other people. They cannot afford to feed every mouth and with about 70% of elderly folks suffering with one or more form of long term illness, the families simply cannot afford the medication either. This unfortunately leads to more and more elderly people being abandoned and left to fend for themselves on the streets of Bogota and when suffering from certain illnesses such as dementia and pneumonia, this is extremely difficult. This is where volunteers can assist. Our volunteers support centers for the elderly who literally rescue women from off the streets and put them into care. Here the ladies can receive love, food, shelter, and medication. With the help of our volunteers the local staff can increase the number of women they can look after. The volunteers can help with everything from medication to feeding.

IVHQ PLACEMENT: Hogar de Cristo
This is a home for elderly ladies. These ladies are found on the streets throughout Bogota and have normally just been left by their families who cannot afford to look after them anymore. The ladies suffer from a wide range of problems such as blindness, deafness, some are unable to talk, arthritis, dementia and general day to day illnesses such as the flu and colds. There is never a dull moment whilst volunteering here. The volunteers main job will be to keep the elderly company and to keep them entertained. There is not really a lot arranged for the elderly to do here and that is why the volunteers are required. They can play a wide range of games (such as bingo) and board games with the elderly, whilst also arranging drawing and painting activities and even reading to the ladies. The ladies also love to dance which is a great form of exercise for them. The volunteers can bring their own music if they wish but the ladies prefer the traditional Colombian music of course. They need to exercise at least once a day so dancing is by far the most effective method of doing this as they enjoy it. Some of the elderly are in wheelchairs and thus are unable to dance but they need exercise too, the volunteers can take the ladies for walks but there are also physiotherapy facilities available. The ladies also have monthly trips to the doctors, the staff need as much assistance as possible from the volunteers here. At around 11.00am it is time for lunch. The volunteers help take all the ladies upstairs to the dining area where they will serve the food and drink. Once finished the volunteers can help wash and tidy away the dishes. When lunch is finished it is usually about 1.00pm. Finally, there is also maintenance such as painting, cleaning and sweeping to do. Anything just to ease the workload for the staff here. The sisters work there too and they are almost fluent in several languages which makes it easier for the volunteers. NB This is only an example placement which is one of many offered by IVHQ in Colombia and not necessarily the one you will be working at.