Thornhill Manor retirement village’s motto is ‘People Matter Here’ and with the coronavirus pandemic having restricted people’s social lives, the village had to find ways to safely enable residents to fill their days with enjoyable activities.
“It is vitally important to ensure that our residents can still avail themselves of the village’s amenities, like our well-stocked library which offers not only books but also puzzles and DVDs,” says Jackie Scott, the village’s deputy manager.
Thornhill Manor, along with all other Rand Aid retirement villages and care centres, supports the Eden Alternative philosophy, which asserts that no matter how old you are or what challenges you live with, life is about continuing to grow.
“We are committed to ensuring that residents are able to participate in the simple pleasures of life, despite the pandemic,” says Jackie.
To enable residents to continue using the village library, an ozone generator was acquired, which converts ambient oxygen into ozone. A powerful gas capable of high levels of disinfection, ozone can be effective in inactivating viruses. These ozone generators have been rented by Rand Aid for use in all of its village libraries.
“Books that are taken out are placed in a bin and these books – as well as the rest of the library – are fogged overnight. The books are then sorted by the volunteer librarians and placed back on the shelves for the residents’ convenience.
“Resident Jenny Carliell has steered the library and its volunteers for over 16 years and we are grateful for all her hard work and organisational skills in cataloguing, labelling and referencing the large variety of books,” says Jackie.
For further information regarding the village, please contact Jackie Scott or Esme Erasmus at 011 608 2480 or email jscott@randaid.co.za
Jenny Carliell and Dawn and Brian Burls keep the Thornhill Manor library functioning smoothly.
