Huis Anna Viljoen

Khadijah Motara

Going to Huis Anna Viljoen is always a humbling experience. It’s something that not only Interact enjoys, but I know for sure the elderly cherish. It’s not easy living at an old age home, there are days where you don’t get to talk to a new face or where both the physical and emotional pain becomes too much to bear. But when Interact visits I know for a fact it always uplifts some spirits.

We took cake and just sat and talked to them. We listened to their stories and spent time with them. It may seem small, but it really does make a difference in someone's more secluded life.

I’ve been visiting the old age home since I started in Grade 8, and I’d like to say I've come to know the elderly there. So, going back this year and seeing that some of my favourite rooms were empty and that those people were no longer there, broke a lot of hearts.

But regardless, visiting is truly an experience I always enjoy. It may not be one of the big Interact trips where we take the bus and go somewhere new, but there really is something special about these visits that I can’t quite put into words. We run from room to room, just spending time, talking and laughing. And it’s in moments like these that you realise that sometimes all someone really needs is someone to sit with them and listen.