Capacity Building for Caregivers

Earlier today, a cohort of caregivers for elderly persons graduated from a seventeen-week course to build their capacity as service providers to a most vulnerable population. The National Council of Ageing, in collaboration with the University of the West Indies Open Campus, offered the Certification Course in Care of Older Persons. At the Biltmore Plaza in Belize City, fifteen participants received their certificates.  News Five’s Duane Moody reports.

Duane Moody, Reporting

It was a proud moment for the fifteen participants from the public sector and N.G.O.s, who provide direct services to older persons in Belize, as they received certification in caring for the elderly population. They were provided with specialized skills and knowhow to work with older persons and their families as a professional.

Juan Vargas

Juan Vargas, Chairperson, HelpAge Orange Walk

“I saw it as an opportune time to learn more about the older persons since we deal with several of these people in our district. I needed to know more on what are their needs, how we can assist them more and try to make their quality of life much better.”

Deborah Smith

Deborah Smith, Social Worker, Mercy Clinic

“This is very important for us because depending on the patient’s health condition, we need to know how active these patients are so that we can provide the best care for them, look for different treatments.”

Minister of Human Development Dolores Balderamos Garcia says that the training holds a special place in her heart. She reflects on the personal case with her mother and how sensitive it is to care for elderly folks.

Dolores Balderamos-Garcia

Dolores Balderamos-Garcia, Minister of Human Development

“My mom lived a beautiful long life of ninety-six years, but in her later years, she needed care and the aging process is one that we have to be so sensitive in making sure that we take care of our elders. And so I shared that my mom passed away in January, but it was so very important that she received the care and the palliative care and the end of life care that we were so willing, as all of her children, to provide. And we had an absolute angel of a caregiver in the person of Miss Teresa Cawil from Orange Walk and she became a part of our family, because no money could have paid for the tenderness, the love and the attention that she gave in that aging process.”

The participants learned about the human anatomy, as well as the legal and ethical issues that come with care giving and look at the support systems around to benefit older persons.

Ix-chel Poot

Ix-chel Poot, Executive Director, National Council of Ageing

“This training initiative came as part of our previous work plan at the National Council of Ageing to build professional capacities. We’ve done training of caregivers, but we were looking at training professionals who are working day to day in different capacities with older persons.”

Duane Moody for News Five.