AS the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security continues to observe ‘Month of the Elderly,’ subject minister Dr. Vindhya Persaud was happy to meet and interact with Zury de Matos, the oldest resident of the Palms Geriatric Home.
Minister Persaud was also delighted to interact with other residents of the Brickdam, Georgetown facility on Friday, and shared in an interfaith service with them that included prayers, songs, poems and dance.
Commenting on her meeting with Zury, she said: “She’s 106 years old, healthy and loves chocolates. After meeting her and listening to her saying that all she wants was chocolates, “I just had to send her some. She wanted nothing else! Bless you Ms. Zury.”
Zury is said to be in excellent physical heath and still does everything for herself. In fact, according to her medical reports, she suffers from no complications or abnormalities, has no stress, has normal weight, and does not use any medication. She has remarkably recovered from coronavirus after contracting it last year, and is now fully immunised with the Sputnik V vaccine.
Meanwhile, Dr. Persaud also promised that she will make tablets available to residents there and teach them how to use them, so as to lead them into the digital age. This is in keeping with her statement earlier this month to mark ‘International Day for Older Persons,’ when she encouraged the elderly population to embrace the digital world, especially during this time of the pandemic.
“The pandemic has emphasised the need for the elderly to enhance their knowledge of technology to access services or connect with loved ones. Social distancing has taken a toll on many older folks and many become depressed because of loneliness,” she had pointed out.
Dr. Persaud has continued to appeal to the public to report instances of elder neglect and abuse through the recently launched 914 Hotline and has also called on elderly folks to be more vocal about the abuses that they are made to endure.
