Various activities at the Centre for Healthy Aging, from exercise to art workshops

With the aim of improving the quality of life of senior citizens and their social inclusion in the community, the Centre for Healthy Aging was ceremonially opened on 18 January 2016 at 12 Maršala Tita Street. Since then, in less than two and a half months, 430 of our senior fellow citizens have contacted the Centre's premises to take part in the activities being implemented. We remind you that the Centar Municipality invested half a million marks in the renovation and equipping of the Centre, according to a statement from the Centar Municipality, as reported by the Patria news agency.

All interested senior citizens who have joined the Centre's activities have the opportunity to actively participate in the diverse activities carried out at the Centre. The greatest interest among members is in the corrective-recreational gymnastics project, with as many as 190 people signing up for this type of activity.

The volunteer of the Centre for Healthy Aging, physical and health education professor Aldin Ferić, successfully leads this project. The aim of the project is primarily to improve the health status of senior citizens, including strength, endurance, better balance, joint mobility and muscle flexibility, the cardiovascular system, and to prevent osteoporosis in women.

"Members are divided into eight groups, with one group consisting of 24 of our members. Exercise sessions are held every working day from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The most important thing is that the users are satisfied, happy, cheerful, and that they feel changes in themselves. We have introduced a novelty of exercising with props accompanied by relaxing music. Every day we use different props and change the exercises to avoid boredom, monotony and uniformity. Every morning before starting the exercises, they solve various puzzles, riddles and mathematical tasks in order to strengthen their mental health alongside physical exercise and improving physical health," Ferić pointed out.

Members also have the opportunity to join educational and creative sections such as: art section, embroidery and knitting, English language, music section (choir singing), work on aluminium foil, herbal medicine, recycling and decoupage, and the workshop "Through play to oneself and others".

The art workshop, led by Brigita Krunić, is held on Mondays from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and on Tuesdays from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

"I am here in the role of a mentor for painting, given that I have been involved in painting for 54 years. The art workshop started last month. We are entering the basics of visual arts, and we will gradually work on techniques. So far, we have been examining our members' affinities towards visual arts," said Krunić.

English language is scheduled for Mondays and Wednesdays from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., and a computer course will soon begin. Thanks to donations from people of goodwill, the Centre for Healthy Aging is richer by two musical instruments, a piano and an accordion. As members expressed their will and desire for musical education, a music section was also established at the Centre, which is scheduled for Tuesdays from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., led by Slobodan Kosanić and Mustafa Salak.

The workshop for psychological support for members, titled "Through play to oneself and others", aims at better acquaintance, greater group cohesion and developing a mutual relationship of trust among the Centre's members. The workshop leader is graduate psychologist Semir Hujdur, and it is held on Tuesdays and Fridays from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m.

The creative workshop working on aluminium foil is held on Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., embroidery and knitting on Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., and recycling and decoupage are scheduled for Thursdays from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.

"I am overjoyed because of this Centre. I have been here since its opening. I joined the music section, English language and corrective-recreational gymnastics. I feel positive, every day of mine is filled with beauty and joy. I have met many friends I didn't know before. We socialize, sing, learn," said Centre member Enisa Čučilović.

In addition to socializing, friendship, education and acquiring new knowledge, the Centre's members should improve their quality of life, exchange experiences with each other and spend their free time in the best possible way. Such a large number of involved people is the best indicator of the justification for implementing the project.

At the Centre for Healthy Aging of the Centar Municipality, covering an area of 324 square metres, senior citizens have free, content-rich full-day stays, with a day room, kitchen, section for board games and a library at their disposal. The Centre also has equipped rooms for various types of training and a room with computers. Toilets are adapted for the elderly and disabled. At the entrance of the Centre there is a reception desk and a room for a psychologist.

The working hours of the Centre for Healthy Aging, headed by Varja Nikolić, are from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. every working day, according to the statement.