About SENCIT

History

Sencit is the property of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa and is located on the corners of Gordon’s Bay and Broadlands Roads, Strand. Originally the building was erected by the Nursing Council of South Africa to be a retirement home for “coloured” nurses who retired and had nowhere else to go. This, however, never materialised and the building had been standing empty for a number of years when the church bought it to serve as a place for youth activities, meetings, bazaars and other church activities. The property was re-purposed when the then Methodist Minister, Rev. Joe Fourie and his wife, Enid had to find accommodation for a couple who had been put off a farm in the Grabouw area, because they had become too old to work.

They then decided to house them at what is now Sencit. They soon found that there were more people in the same situation and realised there was a dire need for accommodation for the destitute elderly and registered it in 1976 as the Sencit Resthaven Old Age Home under the auspices of the Methodist Homes for the Aged. The name is a combination of the words Senior Citizens. Mrs Thelma February, one of the church members, was appointed as Sencit’s first Matron.

The brick and mortar section houses sixteen (16) residents, admin offices, nursing stations, lounge, dining room, everyday kitchen, laundry, scullery, various storage areas residents bathroom, sickbay and staff toilets.

The wooden structure donated by AECI in 1990 houses Eighteen (18) residents, a hall area, staff kitchen and nursing office. The Department of Social Development (DSD) declared the wooden structure unsafe and we are in the process of developing a proposal to have it replaced.

Management

In 2004, SENCIT Resthaven Old Age Home received NPO status, which enabled local government through the DSD to support residents. A committee of volunteers, duly constituted in terms of the Non-profit Organisations’ Act, manages the facility. The committee consists of four (4) members who form the executive responsible for managing the organization and two (2) ordinary members.

Staff

A staff of twenty (20) perform the day-to-day functions and report to the board via a general manager.

The breakdown of the staff is as follows:

DESCRIPTION	NO
General Manager	1
Professional Nurse General Manager	1
Admin / PA reporting to General Manager	1
Chef	1
General Workers reporting to chef	5
Staff Nurse reporting to Professional Nurse	1
Enrolled Assistant Nurse reporting to Professional Nurse	1
Care Providers reporting to Professional Nurse	10
TOTAL	21

Residents

The facility serves 34 residents, 27 females and 7 males. Fourteen (14) of the residents are wheelchair-bound. The racial breakdown, as per the government’s classification, is 10 white, 2 black and 22 coloured.

Income

The facility derives its income from various sources, chief of which are the residents’ government social grant and a subsidy received from the DSD for those who qualify.

Other means of income are fund-raising efforts, assistance from various organisations and taking in what is called Respites – people who come in for a weekend or a couple of days or weeks.

Due to the financial situation of many of our residents, the relatives and families are unable to give much, if any, assistance, but we are working hard on a formula whereby they can give assistance in kind.

Conclusion

South Africa is moving more and more towards elderly health care policies of older people ageing in community rather than institutional settings. The truth of the matter is that many families are unable to care for the elderly and the healthcare system is unable to address the needs of older people living in community settings. An institution like Sencit Resthaven Old Age Home therefore provides a much-needed service, but the very reason for its existence is what prohibits it from really improving its services and becoming compliant with government legislation.