A convenience store in Chiayi City has launched a trainee program aimed at helping elderly people with dementia socialize, in hopes of revitalizing their brain functions and delaying the aging process.
The program is sponsored by the Sisters of Our Lady of China Catholic Charity Social Welfare Foundation, whose chief executive officer Li Shih-hung (黎世宏) has asked locals to extend their goodwill so that the seniors, whose average age is 85, can feel their kindness.
Under the program, two seniors aged between 72 and 98 are to work at a 7-Eleven store on Daye Street (大業街) starting at 11am every Thursday.
It is the nation’s first “dementia-friendly” store, Li said.
Store manager Luo Shu-fen (羅淑芬) said that after three weeks of training, most of the seniors are able to say “welcome to our store” — although some forget the last two words.
One of the seniors, an 84-year-old woman, has come up with her own way of greeting customers in Minnan by saying do shia (“thank you”) and wu ying lai zei (“come again”), Luo said.
A 90-year-old woman could not remember to greet customers with “welcome to our store,” but has no problem making coffee, Luo said, adding that after learning to make coffee, she said: “I never knew I could make coffee.”
Li said many people do not understand what it is like to have dementia, and do not know how to get along with people with dementia.
“We are offering an opportunity for the public to get to know them better,” he added.
About 5 percent of people aged 65 and older in the nation have dementia, Ministry of Health and Welfare data showed.
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