By:Curtis Morton
Charlestown-Nevis-The seniors on Nevis are anticipating a very exciting month for the month of October.
As per usual, the month has been dedicated to honour the seniors around the world and certain specific activities have been put in place, to celebrate the seniors on Nevis.
Coordinator of the Seniors’ division of the Social Services Department, Mrs. Garcia Hendrickson, in a recent interview with Ramie Gumbs of the Communications Department in the Ministry of Social Development, spoke to the activities that have been put in place for the seniors.
The theme for the month is: ‘Take a stand against Ageism.’
The following activities have been put in place for the seniors:
Sunday 2nd October—Church worship at the Shiloh Baptist Church, commencing at 11.15 am.
Friday 7th October-March for seniors, commencing at the Wesleyan Holiness church in Charlestown; along Main Street and culminating at the ET Willet Park with a short program. The children from schools within close proximity have been invited to participate in the march and are expected to bring along appropriate placards.
Tuesday 11th October-Movie evening at the Jessups Community Center, commencing at 5.30 pm. All seniors on the island are cordially invited.
Friday 14th October-Blood testing day at 8.00 am at the War Memorial Square in Charlestown. All are invited to get their blood pressure and blood sugar tested.
Tuesday 18th October-Seniors’ trip to St. Kitts, where they will visit three seniors’ homes, including the GRANGE seniors’ home and this will be followed by an island tour. Numbers are limited and therefore, interested persons are kindly asked to contact the Social Services Department as soon as possible.
Friday 21st October-Tea party- a first of its kind, which will effectively replace the usual GALA, this year. The proposed venue is the Heritage Village, but this is to be conformed shortly. The event is slated to take place between 3 and 6 pm and will also feature some of the seniors in a stunning hat parade. There will also be live string band music throughout the afternoon.
Thursday 27th October- This is the big one! Fun and action games day at the ET Willet Park. There is no registration needed and the seniors will compete in a number of fun games such as bowling; walking backwards race; walking races; tug of war; lime and spoon; dress up race; relays and races for officials and competition with some of the St. Kitts visitors.
One of the features of the day will be the bucket with water race, which will see the seniors racing with a bucket of water balancing on a WAD on their head and the person who gets to the finish line first, with the most water in the bucket, will be the declared winner.
The seniors will be placed in teams with specific colours, as was the case last year.
Mrs. Hendrickson also revealed that instead of the usual Christmas concert in December, hosted by the seniors, they will instead be hosting a seniors’ Queen show or pageant which will feature one senior from each of the five parishes on the island.
The contestants will commence with a fanfare and will compete against each other in casual wear; evening wear; a talent segment and a question and answer segment.
The exact date in December is yet to be finalized.
During the month of October, seniors will also feature alongside Evred WEBBO Herbert on his popular morning devotions program on VON radio and they will also feature on a ‘Let’s talk’ program as well.
Mrs. Hendrickson also noted that the Nevisian population is aging and pointed out that over twenty persons have celebrated either their 80th or 90th birthday during this year. Nevis also boasts of the oldest centenarian in the Federation, in Ms. Celian Powell, a resident at the Flambuoyant Senior Citizens home. She will be 105 years old, come January 19th 2017.
There are five other centenarians on the island and another two individuals are eagerly anticipating getting to the coveted century mark during the month of November.
She took time out to thank the Nevis Island Administration; the staff at the Social Services Department, including her staff at the Seniors’ division, City Drug store which has teamed up to celebrate the significant birthdays of the seniors and the many donors who have assisted throughout the years.
She appealed to the members of the general public to continue to support and assist the seniors in any way possible and help to make their golden years truly enjoyable.