By Matias Radunz | Project Support
This was a planned walk before the social outbreak of 2019. Then came the pandemic and finally it could be realized last October 22, on a sunny and hot day. Ten elderly people from Hogar de Cristo's Home Care Program for the Elderly (PADAM) in Estación Central enjoyed as never before the visit to San Cristóbal Hill, where many of them had never been.
Maria (70) was one of the 10 elderly people from PADAM who enjoyed an unforgettable day trip to Cerro San Cristobal on October 22.
"In the 40 years I've been here in Santiago, I've never been here before," she says, excited, after getting on the funicular and cable car for the first time to appreciate from above a city she hardly knows. Attending to her dependent oxygen husband doesn't allow her to afford this luxury.
"I go out twice a week to sell clothes and cachureos at the fair, on Thursdays and Sundays. Between my husband and me, we earn 270,000 pesos a month with our pensions, so I can't even joke about this kind of trip," she says.
That is why, when she heard about Hogar de Cristo's PADAM, she did not hesitate to enroll. "They have helped me a lot, not only with material things, but also with activities like this. I worked for twelve years in a cleaning and landscaping company in gardens and green areas and I had never been to San Cristobal Hill," she adds, happy.
With her inseparable friend with whom she always goes to the fair to sell, María (72), they took pictures until the space available on their cell phones collapsed.
Her friend lives alone since her husband died five years ago. Four years ago she was diagnosed and treated for gastric cancer, so her diet is very limited. But she takes the courage to go out for walks. Her pension is almost 194,000 pesos, to which she adds what she manages to sell with her friend and neighbor at the fair.
"Because of my illness I have to buy medicines which a lot. In addition, I have to use a thyroid remedy. With Maria at the fair sometimes we do well, other times we don't sell anything. The clothes are given to us at the Isabel de Hungría Church and the ones that fit me well, I keep for myself because I have lost a lot of weight", she says.
The head of PADAM, Viviana, says that this trip was postponed first because of the social outbreak and then because of the pandemic:
"We wanted to do it before, because they spent a long time confined to their homes, which brought consequences in both their physical and mental health. The idea was to get them out of their routine, to see another landscape, because we usually do things at PADAM itself. I think they had a wonderful time and, in addition to my team, I thank the volunteers who came to accompany us, because as they are older adults they require a lot of support".
Hogar de Cristo's Information Technology area helped them with the purchase of tickets, others donated sandwiches. "I think we achieved the goal, because they shared with their peers and saw new things. Some had not been here in decades and had no idea of the large number of buildings constructed, they saw another Santiago," says Viviana.
"What struck me the most was that only one of the seniors had told us he wanted to ride the cable car, and now that we were here, nine of the ten wanted to get on. It was a unique experience for them, and I think they will never forget it.
By Matias Radunz | Project Leader
By Daniela Tosti-Croce | Project Leader
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