The Hope for all
The Elpis Home, situated at 11 Balintore Road, Rondebosch, opened on 15 July 2003, almost thirty years after the idea of establishing an old age home for the aged members of the Greek community of Cape Town was borne. The late Archbishop Paul Varnavas created the Hellenic Ladies Association of Cape Town specifically for the purpose of running the Church’s old age home that he so desired to establish. However, lack of finances, apathy from the members of the community and his own bad health delayed the project and finally it was shelved. That is, until His Eminence, Archbishop Sergios, who shared the vision of providing the aged of our community with a home in which all their needs will be provided for within the environment they are accustomed to, undertook the responsibility to boldly realize this dream, aware that there is only one Greek old age home in South Africa, situated in Johannesburg and that one in Cape Town could serve the Western and Eastern Cape Greek communities and parishes.
The first objective was to find suitable premises situated close to a center of Hellenism – the Church, Club or Metropolis. Through the providence of the Lord, the abovementioned property became available. The second problem was to procure the necessary finances to be able to purchase the property, the purchase price being in excess of R1 million, and to renovate it. In addition to the purchase price, a further R500 000,00 was required to cover the expense of renovations. R200 00,00 of this amount was obtained from the estate of the late Takis Georgiu, a senior citizen of the community, who bequeathed his flat to the Church. He was one of the people, who in ailing old age, living alone with no one to care for him, the Church would have been able to provide for had the old age home been in existence. However, by appointing the Church as the beneficiary of his estate, he enabled the church to sell his flat and put the proceeds toward the buying of Elpis Home. The further contribution towards the R500 000,00 was made by friends and family of His Eminence, Archbishop Sergios and the balance of the R500 000,00 was given by the Metropolis. The balance of the purchase price has been secured by a mortgage bond of approximately R840 000,00, with the Bank requiring surety to be provided by the Archbishop. Assistance has also been given in the form of professional people who have provided their services free of charge as well as people who have donated furniture and fittings.
Renovations to the building were accomplished speedily and resulted in a house with the necessary security features, consisting of eight bedrooms, each with their own bathrooms, a kitchen, lounge, dining room, a lift, a swimming pool and garden. This home has been established to provide the aged of our community with companionship, music, language and food in the Greek ethnic environment in which they have always lived. Its aim is to meet all the needs of the residents – not only the medical, physical and cultural needs, but also to provide them with a sense of security and inclusiveness.
The outer structure of Elpis has been established but the work involved to make it successful is continuous and requires the contributions of as many people as possible. The aged, although often infirm, long to still be part of the vibrancy of everyday life. They too were once young, working hard, living full lives as parents, contributing to the establishment of their community and Church and today we enjoy the fruits of their labour. They sit staring into space, their faces and bodies ravaged by time and illness, their minds often frail, waiting for time to pass, but in each person there was once someone’s child, once a young bride or groom, a parent providing for children and although no longer of use to society, we need to value them for the lives they have lived and to ensure that the end of their lives are spent with dignity and a sense of belonging.
Realising the vision of the Greek old age home has required courage and commitment on the part of His Eminence, Archbishop Sergios and as Orthodox Christians and members of the Body of Christ we need to offer our assistance. If each one of us can contribute in some small way – be it financially, spare time, labour or companionship, our efforts will enable the Church to function successfully.
