The fourth year students of the SLP Department of the UST-CRS,  once again extended this practice by embarking upon an excursion which focused on both the betterment of those in need and for the acquisition of invaluable knowledge and experience that they would require as future Speech Language Pathologist. The target of this particular community development activity was the St. Teresa Jornet Little Sisters Home for the Abandoned Elderly; a perfect little quaint nursing home which houses over a hundred elderly women, each with their own quirks and interesting stories to tell. The facility itself could be divided into four areas; the living quarters, the mess, the chapel and the main hall.  The living quarters, situated in the centremost area of the compound, is a multi-levelled dormitory styled living structure starting at the second floor of the main building. It has the basic accommodations expected, a bunk and drawers for the inhabitant’s possessions, and each room accommodating two to three residents at a time. The chapel was situated to one end of the compound as to prevent any noise from the living quarters, or revelry from the main hall, to snake its way into the solemn environment expected of a chapel. The mess was situated behind the main hall, filled with tables and chairs and looking quite similar to high school cafeteria, it was where the residents retreated to for their afternoon snack after our visit. The main hall, which is situated right below the living quarters, bordered by the levels of the dormitories, allowing all from above to peer down from their lofty balconied heights, was where all things recreational occur. In fact, this was where us SLP students conducted both our evaluation of the elderly occupants of the facility as well as our prepared program of games and singing, as to rile up the spirits of our immediate patients in such a way as to invigorate them for our more probing and clinical inquiries. 

The SLPs, which both acted as entertainer, host and contestant, riled up the residents which competed with one another in a game ‘Hip-Hip-Hurray’ which culminated with a tie between two of the residents, who outlasted their spryer competitors. Afterwards, the singers of the class had their fun serenading the elderly ladies, whom enjoy it greatly, even cheering for more or joining in and calling out song names to be performed, in hopes that their visitors would humour them, which, to their credit, us SLPs did, singing Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” at the request of one of the ladies, resulting in an admirable attempt. They even showed us what they could do by singing a song of their own.  

The atmosphere was warm there, it honestly felt as if we were wanted, as if our presence was some form of relief from the humdrum routine they were far too accustomed to during a daily basis. This is noteworthy as it somewhat, at least to me, made interacting with them easier, which in turn made eliciting vital information from them easier as well. They almost seemed to have no hesitation from sharing aspects of their former lives, in some sense it even felt as if they were keen to do so. They would converse about who they were, how they ended up in the facility, how much, or little, they enjoyed the food, and other funny anecdote from their lives, either about them or the people they’ve come to know around them. Though I can only speak for myself, it made the experience almost pleasurable, like visiting your own grandmother, especially since all the residents were all so fun loving and honestly just as curious about us as we were about them, to the point that pressure to succeed and to constantly excel almost washed away, making it feel almost natural and routine.