Aldona may seem like any other beautiful serene village in Goa, interspersed with quaint houses, grand mansions and a cluster of homely shops towered over by the imposing church overlooking the tinto, but this North Goa village also has something unique, An old age home that is owned and run by the village.
This obviously is something the whole village is proud about and Cyrus Sanches is one of them. As President of the Home for the Aged in Cottar baht, Aldona Sanches knows what he and his fellow villagers have achieved is unique, even for Goa where old age homes run by the Provedoria in each village was common enough.
Till a couple of years ago the two buildings that today make up the Institute of Charity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Mary resembled a dungeown.
The first day I came here i was in a state of shock. I couldn’t believe what i was looking at. There was total lack of concern for the elderly. They were literally living out of a plastic bag. All their belongings were in the bags that were stuffed under their beds. says Sanches. The old age home was so filthy, it was unimaginable that the elderly could be dumped in a place like that.
The turnaround came after people in the village got together to do something about it. They began to collect donations for repairs and restoration. Cupboards, bed-sheets and other things were soon acquired for the around 38 people that live in the home. Contributions were made mainly by locals.
The tables in the refectory were so small that if two people sat together to eat, two plates could not fit on the table. We have fixed all of it says Sanches. The home survives entirely on donations given by the Villagers of Aldona.
Olga Evelyn Lourdes Fernandes who has been at the institution since 1990 says the change has been refreshing. Fernandes tale is similar to many at the home. Her family left her at the old age home when she was in her 70’s and she hasn’t heard from them since.
When I first came here it was very bad, not at least it is a lot better, she says. Another resident, Sarah who used work for a newspaper in Goa has been in the home since 1996.
But more than better living conditions is the sense of abandonment that many of the elderly have to face here. One of the biggest issues we have had to deal with is their feeling of loneliness and abandonment. Most of the families of the people living here don’t even visit them. Which is why we want people in general to come and visit them, not everyday but whenever they can says Sanches. The village plans to expand the institution to accommodate 25 more elders as well as to start a day care centre.
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