By Shirley Thomas

AFTER decades of providing domicile for women in their twilight years, Chase’s Retirement Home, formerly known as Chase’s Indigent Home, located on Robb Street, Bourda, is about to close its doors.

And word is that the building has been sold, and is soon to be demolished. Such information has put the residents at their wits’ end, and from eight persons on record as at mid-March of this year, the numbers have dwindled, with most of them seeking alternative accommodation.
This is compounded by the poor and insanitary conditions at the facility, which is in a virtual state of disrepair. And so today, there are only two remaining.
Those who have already left include the former matron of the Home, a spunky 92-year-old Ms. Beryl Austin, who is now accommodated at another private senior citizens home.
The residents say that about two weeks ago, they received a visit from someone who claimed to be an official of the Mayor and City Council (MCC), saying that it had been recommended that the building be torn down so they would have to vacate the premises.
The women, who are between the ages of 78 to 92, and who all provided quality service at various institutions during their active years, would have been living there or at other senior citizens’ homes for more than a decade.

DESPERATE SEARCH
Unfortunately, they are now finding it difficult to secure accommodation that they can afford, or a guarantee of privacy, peace and quietude so much needed in their lives at this time.
The two women who are still living at the Home have been on a desperate search for a resolution to their plight. They have checked out several senior citizens homes, but with their only guaranteed income being their pension of $17,000, they are nowhere even close to being able to meet their financial obligations.
The rentals are between $30,000 to $35,000 which will cover accommodation, meals and electricity. However, a deposit of $32,000 has to be made to cater for any kind of illness. Some Homes are reported to be requesting the downpayment of the approximate cost of burial, in the event they should die while at the facility.
These demands associated with house-hunting continue to take a great toll on the women, Avril Gordon (78) and Ann Vieira (80), who, over time, have begun to show visible signs of grief.
Gordon has gone from an able-bodied, witty and even fashionable personality to a pensive and introverted woman who seldom utters a word for fear of what is soon to come, hoping and praying that God will make a way for them.
Meanwhile, Vieira, who until recently always had a ready smile and a story to tell about her youthful days, is almost a recluse now. She used to tell everyone about the times she spent working with the Guyana Pharmaceutical Corporation (GPC) and GuySuCo at Matthew’s Ridge before retiring. She talks of the setting-up of a thriving cottage industry and producing pine-apple chunks, pineapple syrup, pastries and other finger foods, and the good relationships she forged with customers while living for 18 years on Forshaw Street, Queenstown.

LIFE TAKES A TURN
But with age, things have taken a turn. A few years ago, she developed cataract and had surgery. Over time, she continued to have vision tests, only to be told one day by the ophthalmologist that she has glaucoma coming out from behind the cataract. That condition has left her severely visually impaired.
Before the tough times, there was never a dull moment or wasted time, as Vieira, when not catering or preparing pastries for sale, was engaged in needle work, doing smocking and the like. She still has samples which she cherishes and keeps to remind her of her handiwork when she was blessed with perfect vision. A member of the Jehovah’s Witnesses body, she says she still tries with great faith to be able to read her Bible and Daily Text, but admits, “The eyes getting weaker.”
Vieira, who hails from Aruka, in the North West region, has fond memories of growing up at that location, then later moving with her parents (Martina and Frederick McLennon) and siblings to Morawhanna, where she had her schooling. Morawhanna, an estuary off the Atlantic Ocean that is the gateway to the North West District.
She has had much exposure to plants such as sugar cane, the various types of pineapples and pasture grass such as lakunta, pangola and elephant grass. She has the art of making cassava bread and other by-products, and delights in telling stories of catching crab on the banks of the Morawhanna River.
What she found annoying about crabs, however, was that once they enter the farm, they would eat and destroy the crops of corn or whatever was within their reach.
She and each of her siblings had their own stocks, which they attended. “We each had our own pig, fowls and ducks, and we took such pride and joy taking care of them,” she now recalls.
Such memories, Vieira says, serve to rejuvenate her and give her a sense of having had a good life.
She was married to Bertie Vieira who passed away about 30 years ago. They had five children, two of whom are now deceased. The three that are alive have their own families, but keep contact with her and help her financially and otherwise. “But they have their families, and space is the problem, especially since I have my own basic home furnishings,” she lamented. Vieira says her one desire is to be able to find a home into which she could settle before her sight deteriorates further, and where she would not have to be a bother to anyone.
“I guess it cannot happen in a day, but I need to get out of here in less than a week,” she sighed with resignation.