Thursday 14 April 2016

Flipping good fun with flapjacks


There was a delicious smell in the air one Sunday afternoon at Rand Aid’s Ron Smith Care Centre on the River Lodge 1 wing, as a group of residents whipped up a batch of flapjacks for tea. 

As they mixed up the batter &and watched very carefully to find just the right moment to flip the flapjacks, they reminisced about all the times they had made this comforting food for their families and how it was always a special treat.

The activity was organised by Leannie Bessinger, the Charge Sister on River Lodge 1, and is very much in keeping with the Eden Alternative philosophy of providing activities for the residents of the care centre which bring meaning and joy to them and which remind them of the simple pleasures and day-to-day activities they enjoyed when they were living in their own homes. 

Activities such as baking or preparing food, which takes place right in the wing where they live, makes for a more homely atmosphere and takes away that feeling of living in an institution, which is what the Eden philosophy is all about – finding those activities and simple pleasures which make this place home for each resident.


“Leannie is living Eden and I am so happy with the activities she organises over weekends for the residents,” says Zabeth Zühlsdorff, Rand Aid’s GM Services and Advance Division.


Patricia Stevenson, Janet Smart, Dolly Luke and Ginny Lorge try their hand at flapjack making.


Jean Smart gets mixing, with a little support from Lettia Nyelele.