TRINIDAD & TOBAGO: Never Too Old To Earn

PORT OF SPAIN (Newsday), August 10 2006: Sixty-eight-year-old Jacqueline LaBorde is using her skills in crocheting, embroidering and sewing to generate an income while living at the Society of St Vincent de Paul’s Nazareth House for Female Senior Citizens. She does this in an effort to combat the grip time has on the human body and mind and , according to Yvette Woodruffe, administrative secretary at the home, as therapy to give a sense of worth. The high cost of living has resulted also in this elderly person adopting a business venture to supplement what is becoming a meagre pension allowance. Although she has decreased the amount of work she does, as her vision has become impaired, LaBorde said she has been crocheting, embroidering and sewing for the past twenty years. Laborde said she learnt these skills at a young age but was only encouraged to use them when she was placed in the St Ann’s Hospital in the 1980s. At the time, her only income was whatever her sister was able to give her and she was only able to buy the bare essentials that she needed with that money. It was this same sister who suggested she started to do something to gain an income. She said after this, she bought crochet thread with the money her sister gave her and began taking orders from staff members at the hospital. She said she made round and square centre table pieces and crocheted collars to attach to dresses. She also embroidered tablecloths, bed sheets and pantry towels. She admitted, “I only charged clients for the cost of materials used and a little extra for myself but I was soon able to buy things for myself.” When she became a member of the Nazareth House in 2001, Laborde continued making items for gift and commercial purposes for visiting benefactors of the home, staff members and the home where she resided. Although she began receiving pension in 2002, she persisted in her craft to assist with this allowance. Currently she is working on a centre table piece for her personal use but she said a piece similar to it would have sold for $60: $30 for materials and $30 for herself. As a result of the minute scale of her enterprise, LaBorde said she had not done much in the way of advertising but word of her work got around by conversations between staff and other persons. Woodruffe, said that the elderly are being encouraged to undertake certain activities based on their interests at the home. She said once they want to pursue business type ventures, the care-givers at the home do whatever they can to provide for their interest. Woodruffe believes care-givers are important to any business transaction conducted so that the elderly would not be exploited. She said, “persons tend to believe once the person is elderly, he/she would provide their services for free or for a minimal cost.” She pointed out there should be no difference between the cost of service from the elderly to that of a younger person or an establishment. She explained there was an instance when a family hired a member of the home for Christmas as they did not have the influence of an extended family member. In actuality, the woman was hired to make sorrel, clean their home and other preparations for the holiday. Woodruffe said it was a bit dishonest of the family as they did not explain fully what they wanted. She said some of the women at the centre do have day jobs, babysitting in particular. Persons make request for their services via the home and they are allowed to go once they are comfortable with and capable of doing the job. Also enthusiastic about the initiative of the elderly LaBorde is chairman of the Living Homes sub-committee, Dr Axel Kravatsky The Living Homes initiative was laun-ched in December 2005 by the Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce, the Chamber’s Home for the Aged Sub-Committee and the Community Improvement Committee. The initiative seeks to develop a shared understanding of what constitutes standards of quality for Living Homes, raise awareness about which homes have inspiring qualities about them and help all existing homes increase their quality of service. Through this project the elderly are encouraged to make meaningful use of their time through physical, mental, social, cultural, creative and intergenerational activities which support individual identity. This, according to Kravatsky, is in an effort to increase the amount of passion the elderly have about life, one of the standards to be met by a Living Home. Kravatsky said it was important to engage elderly persons physically, mentally and spiritually and it was a positive turn if they are able to generate an income. He said, “the knowledge, experience and talent of persons in homes are valuable and could prove to be remunerable in financial ways.” He emphasised that once persons reach a certain age, they do need assistance from others but this does not preclude the elderly working. He reiterated Woodruffe’s comments when he said once it is within the ability and interest of the elder person to work, they should be encouraged to do so. By Leiselle Maraj Copyright © Daily News Limited