Well bundled up this winter thanks to the grannies!

Monday October 8th of 2018, at 2.00 pm, has been a moment with a lot of smiles. And for good reason, the Stemm vun Der Strooss received from the residents of retirement home called “parc du 3ème âge” located in Bertrange, a gift of scarves and hats. This short but touching ceremony took place under the eyes of Luana and Mei-lianes, the 2 educators who supervised the project.

The “Parc du 3ème âge” is a foundation in charge of the reception, supervision and long-term support of adults, physically and / or psychologically dependent, who need stationary specialized care. It is therefore not necessary to be retired to be a resident, contrary to what the name of the foundation might suggest.

This foundation, with the help of its educators and some boarders, offers the Stemm free scarves and hats made by hand.

Luana, one of the educators working on the site, made us understand that hats and scarves are made during the bi-weekly knitting workshops. These workshops last a maximum of 2 hours to avoid exhausting the residents who participate.

For the constitution of the working groups, the educators target people with the will to help and the compassion, by exchanging with the persons of the retirement home. Of course, physical and psychic capacity to knit effectively is taken into account. Indeed many of the residents are physically impaired, are hemiplegic people, or psychically suffer from Alzheimer’s etc.

The knitting workshop fulfills several functions: it enhances the residents who feel useful again and no longer perceive themselves as burden. They have the opportunity to give back a little of what they receive daily as care and attention by helping people in need through their work.

This inter-service activity allows employees of the foundation to meet for a different activity from what is usually their everyday life. In addition to making them feel useful, activities around knitting are a great exercise for controlling and maintaining the motor skills of those who can still use both hands. For those who are hemiplegic for example, there is the method with the knitting tool, adds Mei-lian. It consists of passing the woolen threads around points on a tablet. It is a more suitable method because it is possible to do it using only one hand.

The educators who supervise the workshops are also responsible for quality control. It would be a shame to offer products with defects, adds Mei-lian with strength and conviction. She is the oldest to work with the boarders and had already led the making of the lot of last year. It should be noted that the making of a scarf takes 1 month or 16 hours of work to grannies who are no longer in the prime of life, but driven by their willingness to help they continue to help.

This meeting, in spite of the nap that was still in progress, was a great opportunity for exchange for both boarders and educators as well as for the representatives of the Stemm.