Bringing Smiles to Romania Part 3 of 7

Forever Young


We're all really still children at heart aren't we? I still love a good Disney film.   I still enjoy arts and crafts and if fancy dress was viewed as 'normal' for adults to take part in I would probably still do that too. The thing is I don't think people really age in life. People are trapped in bodies that age but their mind does not. As you get older your body becomes more limited in what it can do but your mind is limitless. Can you imagine how trapped you would feel? This is the reality for the elderly in our society. One day it will be our reality too so we must strive to provide the best quality of care not just for our current care home residents and social care users but for our own futures. We must set the standards now. 

Today I visited a care home in Tileagd. It was a home primarily for elderly people but it has the facilities for assisted living for adults with disabilities or that need 24 hour support. It was an eye opening experience. We walked around the different residents' rooms and learnt about their life stories, their families and how some don't wish to be on earth anymore. It was painful to hear this and how some really missed their independence. It was scary to hear how one turn of events could cost them that ability to care for themselves. However today, as we engaged in activities such as singing, arts and crafts and ball games, we brought smiles to their faces and gave them one less day to worry about. Seeing them smile and joke with eachother really bridged the intergenerational barriers between us as we realised we have more similarities than differences. It was strange how much the activities revealed about the personalities of the people in the care home. In particular, today I met two ladies who seemed to have a sporting or athletic background. At the age of 92, one of the ladies was able to play a game of beach volleyball whilst sitting down with us. We all laughed together when a beach ball accidentally hit someone in the face or hit someone who wasn't playing. Another lady who was younger gave me a back massage which was not what I was expecting at all!! (She was very good at it too although I feel it should have been me giving her the massage!😂) She was even wearing very modern clothes that our teenagers would wear, such as cut-off sweat pants with a tracksuit top and trainers which seem to be either Nike or Adidas.




It was a wonderful day and it was enlightening. It made me realise what kind of care I would want when I am an older person in the future. I don't think I would want the kind of care that is stereotypically used in care homes nowadays. I would much prefer a more mature approach to arts and crafts such as classes and courses to teach me how to knit and sew or even paint at a more advanced level. If I was able, I would love the chance to attend a dance class. The care home have recently installed a projector which allows for them to run cinema nights which is a fantastic idea.

I suppose we should really treat care homes as a holiday retreat but with permanence because by the time we're at this stage in life, I believe everyone has had a full and challenging life. I think everyone has earned the chance to relax and pick up lost or new hobbies that they weren't able to do whilst they were working and raising a family throughout their lives (especially since some are unable to leave the care home for such activities). 

I am so glad that at home we have Activities Coordinators in care homes because I think that role and it's importance will increasingly grow.

Today caused me to reflect a lot. It even made me consider the care and support that my grandparents and my mother will need as they get older. It has made me realise that they have supported me through the beginning of my life, when I needed help, and it is my duty as a child and a grandchild to give help and support back to them when they need me the most. I know this has been a very reflective blogpost and maybe not exciting but I do believe it is very important for others to consider this too. I would very much encourage for people to at least spend one day volunteering in a care home for even a fun day to experience what I have experienced. Although I have been told all of these lessons before, it is taken this experience for it to really have an impact on me. 

The work that Smiles are doing with elderly care in Romania is admirable. I expected to arrive to a home with unpleasant smells and unhappy residents but it exceeded my expectations on every level. The staff know the stories of every individual and the care they provide is fit for royalty. 



It gives me so much hope to see good work done by good people and I hope that Smiles' legacy will contunue to grow and touch many more lives, setting examples to others. So thank you to all who donated towards my trip. Whilst the trip has brought me here, there's still a large sum of money that is going into the work of the charity and they need this continued support to touch the lives of many more vulnerable people here in Romania. I am eternally grateful for this opportunity.

To lighten up the mood, here's a kitten we met today at the centre 😍 :



NPK X



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