Gathering Place for Seniors Educates, Improves Quality of Life
When Nina Zenkina was 17, she found herself behind the wheel of a combine gathering wheat and corn while Soviet men were being sent to fight in World War II. She worked hard until she retired at age 55. For years, she lived alone in her Soviet-style apartment on a meager pension. Now 80, Mrs. Zenkina decided it was time for a change after a neighbor encouraged her to visit the new senior center in the Territorial Center of the Leninsky District of Kharkiv.
The center was established through a program developed by Eurasia Foundation and Philip Morris Ukraine. The program, entitled Community Centers for Elderly People, takes existing social assistance centers and turns them into central gathering halls where seniors can not only benefit from free health care and legal advice, but also enjoy social activities with their peers and develop new hobbies. Four local NGOs were selected through an open competition to start and manage six centers throughout the city of Kharkiv.
Classes are held in sewing, dance, drama, gardening and choir. The seniors also banded together to volunteer at a rehabilitation center for disabled children.
“A great many thanks to the people who made this center possible,” Mrs. Zenkina said. “Clubs such as this need to be opened in each district. In addition to socializing, we [learn] very practical skills here on how to take care of our health and how to live better.”
The six centers were financed by Eurasia Foundation (with support from USAID) and the Altria Group Inc. (including Philip Morris Ukraine). In-kind services and infrastructures were provided by the Kharkiv City Council and participating NGOs—the civil organization UNITY, the AMMA Association and charitable foundations PROMIN and Hesed-Shaare-Tikva.
