Prestigious award for the Montefiore Home
At the Positive Living in Aged Care Awards last week, Sydney’s Montefiore took second place for its Zikharon V’Tikvah (Remembrance and Hope) Project, also known as the ‘Butterfly Project’.
Receiving the award
The Positive Living in Aged Care Awards recognises residential aged care providers in NSW who are implementing strategies to promote a positive approach to the prevention and management of mental health conditions. The awards form part of a project developed by NSW Health Older People’s Mental Health Working Group, funded by NSW Health and managed by the Aged and Community Services Association of NSW & ACT (ACS) in collaboration with the Aged Care Association Australian – NSW (ACAA).
Zikharon V’Tikvah is an intergenerational project, designed to promote the mental health and wellbeing of Residents of the Home. Its is based on a program initiated by San Diego Jewish Academy and extensive consultation took place between the Academy, the participating school, Montefiore professional staff, Residents and relatives.
Each week, over a period of months, year seven students from Moriah College worked together with Montefiore Residents creating beautiful ceramic butterflies to serve as a powerful visual representation of the theme – Remembrance and Hope – to remember the 1.5 million children who died in the Holocaust; to honour the survivors; celebrate their lives and inspire hope for the future.
The program was developed and tailored to meet the specific needs of Montefiore’s Residents. As the Residents and students worked together, they interacted warmly, sharing stories and skills and building relationships. Many of the Residents do not have families of their own, some being childless Holocaust Survivors. Others have families who live elsewhere, so visits are limited. Even Residents with physical disabilities were able to participate, offering ideas and suggestions. Students also wrote messages of hope on paper Butterflies.
The completed work now forms a beautiful display in one of the courtyards at the Randwick campus, to be enjoyed by Residents and visitors to the Home.
