Enliven Care Inspires Volunteer Work
The level of care given to Maria Arhanic’s father, Branko, at Gore’s Resthaven Village was so good it inspired Maria to give back to the elderly in her community.
When Maria Arhanic’s father, Branko, was diagnosed with vascular dementia, and the home he was in in the Wakatipu was unable to meet his needs, he moved to Resthaven Village in Gore.
At the time it was a huge step – Maria was his only family member in New Zealand and lived in Queenstown – but Maria now sees it as the best thing that could have happened at that stage.
“The staff at Resthaven were amazing,” she reflected.
“They would take him out for coffee, get him out gardening – he used to love those sorts of things – and they took the time to get to know him and to talk to him.”
“With me being so far away, and only able to visit every fortnight, it was just so nice to know how well looked after Dad was,” she said.
The care was so good, it inspired Maria to volunteer for Enliven’s SupportLink service in Wakatipu so she could give back to the elderly community in her area.
“I saw an advert about volunteering for SupportLink; a service, which matches volunteers with older people in the community who require some companionship or support.”
“I was matched with an elderly couple, neither of them can drive anymore, so I’ll meet them each week and take them to appointments, or the shops, or wherever they need to go.”
“Kindness goes around in circles, and it feels really good to be doing something for someone else.”
To read more about Maria's story click here.