NIA CHARLESTOWN NEVIS (SEPTEMBER 07, 2022) — Hon. Eric Evelyn, Minister responsible for seniors on Nevis registered his satisfaction with the return of the Seniors Recreational Group Meeting hosted by the Seniors Division.

The Minister of Social Development in the Nevis Island Administration (NIA) made the comment when he spoke to the Department of Information at the senior’s first group meeting at the Jessups Community Centre on August 30, 2022, since the advent of COVID-19.

“I must say it is such a joy to see our seniors back together again in this group setting. Of course, we know that we have been set back by the COVID-19 pandemic, and so, for the past two years our seniors were not able to gather together in the groups that they normally gather in.

“However, of course, I would say irrespective of that our Seniors Division and our caregivers continued to do an outstanding job in continuing to visit, in a very a very safe manner, and continue to do what they can to ensure that our seniors get the necessary visitation, and continue to get the necessary care that they truly deserve.

“Our seniors have been eager to come back together in this group setting, and when I walked in…I saw the smiling faces. I saw how happy and enthusiastic the seniors were, it filled my heart to see that they are so happy to be back together as a group,” he said.

The recreational group meetings for seniors, is a weekly activity hosted by the Seniors Division in the Ministry of Social Development. The activity is designed to offer support, recreation and socialising every week.

Mr. Evelyn explained that he is aware of the importance of the weekly group meetings to the seniors.

“This is just a start of our group meetings back together, and I know this will do so much for the morale of the seniors in getting them out from home, where some of them are very, very lonely, and so, as a department and as a ministry, we are so very, very happy to have our seniors back out in this setting,” he said.

The Social Development Minister added that Seniors Month, which is observed annually in October, is just weeks away which the Seniors Division is actively preparing for with emphasis on safety.

“Irrespective of what we do, now we have to ensure we continue to be as safe as possible. We want when our seniors are out in their centre meetings that our activities are safe, bearing in mind that the pandemic is not fully behind us,” he said.

Ms. Trudy Prentice, Coordinator of the Seniors Division stated that their plans for Seniors Month includes handing providing the seniors with a calendar of the planned activities and preparing them for what’s to come.

The Division’s Coordinator said the month of activities will include a tea party, the annual seniors march through Charlestown, a Jerusalem Concert and a day trip to St. Kitts.