HISTORY BEING MADE FOR SENIOR CITIZENS A twenty-six member Senior Citizen group from Martinique visited St. Lucia last July in an interesting programme, with its main agenda being the discovery of St. Lucia and its inhabitants. In fact the first, visit planned on the agenda was to visit an elderly institution and the Adelaide Home was selected.
This is what the Martinique Journal had to say about the home. “What is Adelaide’s Home? It is simply an institution created by Mr. Augustus Justin who after having lost his mother, then his older sister, worked towards helping under privilege elderly people. What a warm welcome we got from our first contact on arriving in Castries. We had a copious lunch in an atmosphere of joy and good humor.”
In keeping with the National week for the elderly which takes place annually in Martinique from the 19-26 October the Martiniquans have invited their counterparts to participate with them in the different activities plan for the event, where the St. Lucian elderly will in turn discover Martinique. Among the residents of the Adelaide’s & Frances Home who will be making the trip will be 90 year old Charlotte Aimable. Jeannick Bartel the dynamic co-coordinator of the Lorrain Club in an invitation letter to the chairman, Mr. Justin says that the elderly from St. Lucia will be taken care of by members of the Lorran Club. ONE CARIBBEAN 1991
FRIENDS OF ELDERLY VISIT MARTINIQUE Strengthening ties long forged with Martinique, the Friends of the Elderly in association with Adelaide & Frances Home last month made their annual visit to the island. The trip coincides with the annual Martiniquan Banana Festival and gives members of the group and residents from the Adelaide & Frances Memorial Home a chance to participate in the cultural fair. This is the third year that the philanthropic organization has visited Martinique as a group. The trip is an opportunity to visit with similar clubs and elderly folks in Martinique, Affiliated with the Home, the group has for years been linked with Martiniquan organizations involved with caring for the elderly. Because of the generosity of these groups the Friends of the Elderly returned to St. Lucia this year with donations of clothing for the destitute in our community.
The clothing is being distributed to the poor when the group makes its monthly trip to serve hot coffee and make small donations to the homeless. While in Martinique the group also collected small monetary contributions from friends there. The proceeds will go towards financing celebrations for the United Nations Day for the Elderly, annually observed on October 1.
The Friends of the Elderly solicited contributions from their French neighbours mainly through the sale of bar-b-que tickets. Friends of the Elderly are continuing to solicit donations from the St. Lucian public to contribute to the annual celebration to honour our elderly on October 1. Donations of every kind are welcome from all concerned individuals and organizations.
TWINNING OF THE ADELADIE & FRANCES WITH LORRAIN
Call it destiny, call it prophecy. But when a small contingent of elderly people from Martinique visited St. Lucia, some five years ago, there was no telling that tomorrow the 30th January 1994, in a ceremony that can only be described as God inspired, that this group would be twinned with our own Adelaide & Frances Memorial Home. It all started out as a picnic.
The Association de Club des Trois Eme Age an Elderly Club from the province of Lorrain in Martinique, visited St. Lucia as part of their planned yearly activities. On arrival here, the group requested as an item on their packed itinerary a visit to an elderly institution. Not surprisingly, the Adelaide Home because of its efficient caring for the elderly and loving homely environment was chosen. At this point the two groups bonded in a union of friendship, love and cooperation. And since that time, it has been smooth sailing. Three months after this historic, not to mention unusual and destined meeting, The elderly folks of Adelaide and Frances homes were invited to Martinique as proud guests of the Club des Trois Eme Age.
ST. LUCIA AND MARTINIQUE JOIN FOR THE ELDERLY A newly established local group” Friends of the Elderly.” Last weekend took their campaign to improve life for elderly people in St. Lucia to Martinique. For three days the group liaised with a Martiniquan association with the same objectives and sought to strengthen the bonds between the two organizations and discover new ways to work towards their common objective. The short trip also marked the first anniversary of the twinning of the Adelaide & Frances Memorial Home in St. Lucia with Ki Ma Fouti E Sa (Adarpa) in Martinique. On Sunday, the Martiniquans and St. Lucians joined in a special church service, a march through the town and a luncheon ceremony. Friendships were also enhanced during the short trip with the two groups enjoying a day at the beach together.