Quadrant Gardens Sea Point Place active in a community . That ’ s what we provide , a sense of community , a sense of belonging .’
The villages organise regular activities for their residents , such as music therapy and visits from friendly animals . ‘ We now have a brand new concept that we call the Intergenerational Care Concept ,’ says Zipp . ‘ There ’ s a lot of existing research that speaks to the vast benefits of intergenerational activities for both children and seniors . Seniors can volunteer to engage with the children , for example , by reading them stories or participating in arts and crafts . The children benefit from enhanced social development , and the seniors from improved overall physical and mental health .’ asked to manage them . Government came in at a later stage with subsidies and guidelines when we developed frail care facilities in the Cape Flats and Observatory .’
The organisation then created an economic component to cross-subsidise its welfare component , developing villages aimed at the middle to higher income sector . Over the years the economic component grew , and now the organisation has a different client group in the upmarket sector . Says Zipp : ‘ There is a lot of competition in this sector and that is good because you have to come up with new products and make sure you are always at the top of your game and in tune with the needs of contemporary retirees .’
The organisation was approached by a play school in Claremont , and decided to pilot the concept of having classes within one of its homes . Zipp says it ’ s wonderful to see residents interact with children , and they have noticed improvements , especially with dementia and frail care residents . The organisation is considering rolling out the concept at its other villages .
Zipp says that it is difficult to manage both a welfare and economic sector within a single organisation , but CPOA has experienced staff and a strong balance sheet , and all its residents trust that they are being looked after financially and otherwise . He says : ‘ We are conservative , we don ’ t want to stretch ourselves , and we focus on quality projects over quantity .’
A few CPOA homes are pet-friendly . Residents in ground-floor apartments or standalone units can keep small pets , for example at Harfield Village . Says cat-owner Zipp : ‘ We even have some facilities that have resident dogs or cats cruising around . It ’ s nice to see how our residents are so excited to see them .’
Each of the homes has a management committee that reports to CPOA head office about its day-to-day operations , covering everything from food quality to maintenance issues because , assures Zipp , ‘ you want to make sure that the needs of all the residents are looked after .’
CPOA
’ s welfare budget is about R25 million per year , after subsidies . It takes care of about 600 people in its welfare homes , and the demand is growing . It is now in discussion about a concept for a new 100-bed care centre in Khayelitsha , working in partnership with Ikamva Labantu , which offers home-based care in the area . Home-based care is working well , but there are many people who reach a point when they need to go into 24-hour frail care . CPOA is offering to fund half the capital expenditure for the care centre and contribute to operational costs , but government support and partnerships will be needed for the concept to be implemented .
‘ Sixty-five years ago , we started as a charity organisation , providing retirement facilities for people who couldn ’ t afford otherwise ,’ Zipp explains . ‘ It was a private initiative and wasn ’ t funded by government . We established “ stock ” when homes were donated to us and we were
CPOA was started by volunteers , and volunteers still play an important role in both the welfare and economic homes . ‘ We could never function effectively without all of our dedicated volunteers from both the private and corporate sectors ,’ says Zipp
Rehana Dada
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