27 Jul 2015

“Baga ngwale wee thekang ka leselo,” an elderly woman’s voice breaks into song. What began as a solo effort erupted into a song for the assembled elderlies.

The song, she explains, reminds her of her childhood days when Ramotswa had only one radio that was played over car speakers for the masses to hear.

All this reminiscence would be lost if it was not for Re Fa Ka Bone Caring Centre. Established in December 2011 and officially registered on July 13, 2012, Re Fa Ka Bone Caring Centre is place for love.

With a passion for taking care of those in need, Ms Akanyang Mokwena a then retiree from the Bamalete Lutheran Hospital Hospice embarked on a journey to start a day care centre that provides care for the elderly and mentally challenged while their family members are engaged in other tasks such as work and school.

The centre was established with the assistance of Ms Selinah Ntswe, Ms Tsholofelo Rakgomo, Ms Selebaleng Mafoko, Ms Ntete Motshwaedi, Mr Albert Molapisi, Ms Nthabiseng Masi and Ms Keamogetse Ntope.

According to Ms Mokwena, part of her team was people she had worked with at a hospice. Their experience at the hospice, made them aware that most of the deaths suffered by the elderly were because of depression due to loneliness and lack of care to taking medication or overdosing.

This inspired them to start the centre where they would be able to care for such people. Asked on how the centre ended up at its current location, the chairperson Ms Ntswe says they went around the village looking for unoccupied structures where they could move into to no avail.

The team approached Ms Adolphina Oteng who agreed to lend them her three-bedroomed house for three years with the condition that they should be able to source funds and develop it.

They have since built a shed, reconnected water, and put up shade nets for the clients to rest under. The centre has a client base of 63 registered members, 26 of them are those with mental disability and two are visually impaired.

On a normal day, clients get two meals, breakfast and lunch and if finances permit, they also get afternoon tea. Some of the clients get their medication at the centre as well. They are also reminded of their regular check-ups with the doctor.

The clients also get material assistance in the form of clothing as the public sometimes donate second hand clothes and shoes. The centre currently faces a number of challenges chief among them lack of funds and a suitable place to operate.

Given the number of clients the centre has, their current infrastructure is not enough to host all of them. Another shortcoming presented by the current financial situation is transportation of the visually impaired clients and those who are unfit to walk to and from the centre on a daily basis.

They also run short of food which has resulted in volunteers bringing in food from their homesteads.  They also experience shortage of manpower since most of the volunteers at the moment are employed and this leaves a load of work to those available at the time.

Despite Re Fa Ka Bone facing all these challenges volunteers are adamant on keeping it alive.

The center has written proposals to different entities soliciting assistance and has received little positive feedback as different companies have made different contributions. Moreover, the centre runs a multiple fundraising activities every now and then.

They have had a family fun day in 2014 and a five-aside football tournament where various teams went head to head for a good cause that took place a few months back. There has been circulation of donation sheets towards Christmas in the hope of raising funds to host a Christmas party for their clients.

And on October 1, Re Fa Ka Bone will run an annual Chain of Love event which is also aimed at raising funds. The date coincides with the World Day of commemorating elderlies across the world.

This will be the second year Re Fa Ka Bone hosts this type of event. Ends