Active elderly residents of Vitebsk have created a public association

The "Golden Age" Club of Senior Citizens, which operated under the Vitebsk Regional Organization of the Belarusian Red Cross Society, has been transformed into an independent city public association, reported Tatyana Drobysh, chief specialist of the regional organization of the BRCS.

"This is an important achievement for all social projects in the region focused on the elderly. For the first time, an initiative that emerged thanks to participation in a mini-grant competition through the Red Cross has developed into an independent organization. The main goal for which all these projects are implemented has been achieved – the principle of active participation on a permanent basis. After all, elderly people can be not only recipients of assistance but also subjects, volunteers, whose potential is enormous: a lot of free time, a desire to do something to improve their lives and the lives of those around them," explained Tatyana Drobysh.

The "Golden Age" Club is one of over 20 initiative groups that have emerged in the Vitebsk region since 2006 during the implementation of the "Strengthening the Service of Sisters of Mercy" project. Seniors themselves became volunteers for those in need, improved their settlements, spent their leisure time together in an interesting way, engaged in sports, needlework, shared their experiences with young people, and so on. In particular, the "Golden Age" group, which united more than 100 elderly but active citizens, covered all possible areas with its activities: health improvement, excursions and tourism, cultural leisure, beauty and self-care lessons, floriculture, computer and internet skills training.

Experienced artisans and craftswomen have taken under their wing students from the Vitebsk State Vocational and Technical College of Light Industry from disadvantaged backgrounds or orphaned children, teaching them the intricacies of crafts. Now, the core of the club, including the former head and current deputy chairman of the NGO "Golden Age" Wanda Tyulkova and the chairman himself, Mikhail Luzgin, have taken the initiative entirely into their own hands. In their work, they strive to minimize the three main problems faced by the elderly: illness, loneliness, and ageism (age discrimination).

Continuing the club's activities, the organization will also implement new ideas, such as the "Intellectuals' Salon." And, most importantly, it intends to independently participate in international technical assistance projects, receive grants, and change the lives of elderly residents of the region for the better – making them more active and interesting.

Ekaterina Knyazeva, BELTA.