Chugungo: Older adults enhance mental and cognitive health

Through a series of workshops, work was carried out on issues specific to the elderly so that they can stay active and can be inserted into society.

Older adults from the town of Chungungo, in the commune of La Higuera, participated in a cycle of workshops on cognitive aspects and mental health in times of pandemic, with the purpose of enhancing their skills in memory, language, concentration, creativity and attention.

The initiative, in charge of the “New Dawn” Senior Adults Club, was carried out thanks to the award of the Fund for Strengthening Organizations of Public Interest 2022 delivered by the Regional Ministerial Secretariat of Government.

For Susana Tapia, President of the New Dawn Club, the workshop “served as therapy for us to accept our age and what is coming our way. It also helped us learn about the experiences of other neighbors and share our lives.”

The initiative was born out of the needs of the Chungungo community itself and materialized thanks to the support of Compañía Minera del Pacífico (CMP), within the framework of the “Plan for Tourist, Local and Historical Development”, which seeks to promote the town as a pole of interest for regional and national tourists.

“Older adults have a lot to contribute and deliver, they can transmit the rich history of what was El Tofo and Cruz Grande. For this reason, it is important to collaborate with training for them, promote the participation of the elderly and that the community is united”, pointed out Martín Argaluza, CMP Head of Puerto Cruz Grande.

The course participants thanked the instance, valued what they had learned and highlighted the importance of activities of this type being carried out in Chungungo. “One thinks what else can be learned at this age, if I am already old. But we have learned a lot. I liked everything, things that one was not aware of,” said Gaspar Andrade, a workshop participant.

The instance allowed couples to actively participate. This is the case of Margarita Castillo, who was accompanied by her husband. “We are super happy, we learn to relate to each other, we share more, now we are more attuned,” she said.

The same affirms Emilio Aguilera, who was with his wife in the classes. “Everything is very nice, although sometimes we miss some things, we forget things, but we have a good time here, we play and laugh,” he said.

Cognitive Aspects and Mental Health

The workshop was given by Carmen Retamal, a nurse and Master in Applied Social Gerontology from the University of Barcelona, in Spain, who pointed out that it was a very valuable experience for older adults, especially considering what the pandemic was like.

“The workshop was related to mental health prevention issues and the effects that the pandemic had on them. Therefore, we delve into the promotion of healthy and successful aging, self-care, cognitive stimulation, sexuality, spirituality, playful workshops and we end with a small play to stimulate language, concentration and memory”, explained the rapporteur.

The completion of the workshop consisted of the certification with diplomas of all the students and the delivery of gifts for the participants, in addition to a set of sports implementation for the “New Dawn” club of the coastal town of the commune of La Higuera.