ELDER ENRICHMENT EXPERIENCE — VISIT TO OLD MONTREAL
Did you know that the MCA Wholistic Health & Wellness Program hosts monthly events and activities for elders in our community? Did you also know that regular participation in life enrichment programs increases brain health? It aids in the prevention of health problems connected with isolation and loneliness, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, depression, and others. With the Elder Enrichment Program, WHW aims to promote physical, emotional, cognitive and social wellness for Akwesasronon seniors.
Recently, the WHW Prevention team brought some elders on a visit to Old Montreal! Check out the testimonial from one of our participants, Rosemary Bonaparte:
“The Elder Enrichment Program of MCA sponsored a trip to Old Montreal this week. I was fortunate to go. Once we got to Montreal, we were in with six lanes of traffic all stopped; then we just inched along. Good thing everybody was in good spirits, looking for interesting things along the way, including the trucker that flirted with our van driver.
When we got out of the van the first thing we noticed was the zipline. They strap the rider into a seat and send them off through the air on a wire. Barbara Lazore and Donna Delormier were daring enough to try. They said it was exhilarating and only got a little scary when they reached the end and it felt like it wasn’t going to stop.There was a lot of walking along cobblestone streets but we headed for an outside restaurant and ate while we watched the birds hopping around, looking for anything that dropped off the tables. I was all right with that but I got nervous when a bee came buzzing around and almost went into my ear. There were a lot of interesting shops and many of them were very touristy. We saw a lot of Indian art, painting and carving and, some of that was really beautiful. My favorite was the Canadian fur clothing store. I wanted to try on a black fur coat until I saw the price tag of $6,000.00. It was mink!As we walked along we noticed a bride and groom posing between two buildings. There was an archway made of red roses and as I looked down the alley-way there was a lot of flowers which will make the pictures they took lovely. Then as we saw them walking away the bride gathered up her beautiful gown and revealed her tennis shoes.
We all enjoyed this trip and we are looking forward to an Apple Picnic on Tuesday the 19th of September, which will be in an apple orchard behind the Akwesasne Library on Route 37. The following Tuesday on September 26th, there will be a “Lunch and Learn” at the Tri-District Elders on Cornwall Island. The MCA Mental Health Team will be there. You have to register with the Wholistic Health and Wellness Program of MCA for both of these events.”
Nia:wen for sharing your experience, Rosemary! Wholistic Health & Wellness looks forward to many more fun events such as this one.
If you have any questions about the Elder Enrichment Program or future workshops, please contact WHW at 613-575-2341 ext. 3115 or at wholistichealth@akwesasne.ca.
