Heliopolis Elderly Center

Paulah Gauss called Projeto Velho Amigo with a special surprise for this Mother's Day she said, "I want to come down to the Insitute and sing for all the Senior Ladies!" We were thrilled! So we all got together on Friday, May 11th for a very special Mother's Day celebration.

All of the senior ladies came down to the center for the special surprise! We had 100% attendance with over 45 women present. They were very happy and they all brought a bit of food from their homes for a potluck lunch. They were so excited to share their homemade recipes with their friends.

We started the activities with some circle dancing led by a volunteer who regularly teaches dancing at the center to the senior ladies. They were gifted with a beautiful bag full of paper flowers and a small book and some other goodies! They were all so happy!

After the dancing, we had our special celebrity guest sing and dance for the ladies. Paulah Gauss had a repertoire of over 20 songs that she sang for all of them. They loved the songs because they were from their era. Some of the ladies even came up to the microphone to sing with her. They took photos and made videos of themselves singing and dancing.

Many of these women's lead hard lives and they struggle at home with their families. This was a very special time for them to feel loved and appreciated by their community of friends and volunteers. Some of the senior women suffer from diabetes and heart disease and they hadn't been out of their homes for some time so it was nice for them to get out and dance and sing. 

It is important for all these seniors to get out of the house and socialize Projeto Velho Amigo provides these amazing women with that opportunity. All of the seniors participating in this project have improved mental health and quality of life! They love sharing stories about how PVA has changed their lives for the better. 

Making the kind of commitment it takes to help these seniors each month is only possible because of the support of special individuals and foundations who provide the funds to help organize and sustain daily programs, classes, and activities for these senior citizens living inside one of Brazil's largest favelas. Thank you all for your continued support and donations!

Overview & Conclusion 2017:

 The Senior Citizens who attend The Velho Amigo Project – Heliópolis are ready and willing to learn. Under real learning conditions, the students begin to transform by constructing and reconstructing the knowledge taught, with every professional who works in The Velho Amigo Project – Heliopolis. The professionals are also subjected to the process, as the teachers learn from teaching and those who learn become teachers of what they have learnt. (Freire, 2006, p. 29).

 We believe that we achieved our goal once attendance for each activity improved. The strong demand from the older adults within the community for the activities developed by The Velho Amigo Project – validated the need for the project designed within Heliopolis. Since the teachers are trained and dedicated to what they do the Senior Citizens are receptive and accepting. Everyone within the community is received with affection and dedication, and this helps in the dissemination of the project within the community.

• 2017_Overview.docx (DOCX)